- Tony Roma will be the new Corvette and Chevrolet Performance boss
- Roma will supersede Tadge Juechter who is retiring
- Roma was in charge of engineering the Cadillac Celestiq flagship
General Motors last week named Tony Roma as the new person responsible for all future development of the Chevrolet Corvette.
Roma takes over from Tadge Juechter who has been closely linked with the Corvette development team since the early 1990s and led it since 2006, during which time he oversaw development of the C7 and C8 generations.
Juechter announced his retirement in April, ending a 47-year career at GM. The last project he signed off on was the C8 Corvette ZR1, a car that GM has confirmed will debut this summer.
Roma is currently in charge of engineering for the Cadillac Celestiq flagship and will switch to the Corvette team on July 1. The team will be rolled into the newly established Global Corvette and Performance Cars team, which Roma will lead as executive chief engineer.
Chevrolet Corvette Z06
Roma will also lead the Luxury and Performance Car team at GM. Currently in that role is Brandon Vivian, who is moving to GM’s Advanced Vehicle Development Center as executive chief engineer and brand strategy coordinator.
Like Juechter, Roma is a veteran of GM and has previously worked on various Corvette projects, particularly in the area of powertrain development. He also owns multiple Corvettes, including a C4 ZR1, a C6 ZR1, and a C8 Z06.
Roma has also worked extensively on projects away from the Corvette, including Cadillac’s V-Series and Blackwing performance lines, as well as the Celestiq, and former ATS and CTS lines. The experience with the Celestiq and other electric vehicles at GM will likely prove crucial as Chevy looks to turn the Corvette into an EV at some point.
Roma also is an experienced racing driver, with seat time at the Nürburgring, a track where he has racked up more than 1,500 laps.