By now you know that the 2014 C7 Corvette has been revealed [1], rights to the first production car have been sold [2], and renderings of the future convertible model [3] have been posted. If not, well, you haven’t been paying much attention. But beyond all the frenzy surrounding the car’s debut, Chevrolet decided to let us in on a little bit of insight from Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter on what part he played in the creation of the next-generation sports car. Take a look at what he had to say in the video [4] above.
[5] When it comes to the highly-skilled engineers and designers of GM, we’re used to hearing titles like Exterior Design Manager, Design Director, and Aero Engineer associated with their names, but what do these titles mean? Well, for Juechter and his Executive Chief Engineer title, it means that he oversees the combination of all components that went into the brand new C7 Corvette.
While some might think that a car is merely a sum of its parts, designing a car goes beyond that. For Juechter, he’s the creative genius at the head of the class, maintaining the ultimate vision for the car, managing the teams that are designing specific components and overseeing the process of transforming individual parts into a full-sized car.
[6] The results of Juechter’s efforts and direction are phenomenal, giving the new Corvette race-bred aerodynamics and component cooling techniques, as well as precision steering and a solid base for any type of driving. Because of all these things and more, the new Corvette appeals to a wide audience spectrum, from those looking for a daily driver to those looking for one heck of a factory track king.
As Juechter points out, the C7 is just “more” in every aspect compared to any other factory Corvette produced. It’s faster, has better handling, has more comfort and even more functional style (at least some would argue). In all, the new C7 Corvette isn’t just a sum of its parts – rather it’s a sum of parts, technology, design, ideas, technique, and an overall love of America’s favorite sports car, all headed by Juechter himself.
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