A historic changing of the Corvette guard is complete.

Following the retirement last spring of Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter — aka the “Godfather of the Corvette” and only the fifth chief engineer for the iconic Chevrolet supercar — Product Marketing Manager Harlan Charles and Design Manager Kirk Bennion also are exiting the team.

Combined the trio had 125 years of experience at General Motors Co. and presided over the development of the eighth generation (C8) Corvette — the first mid-engine model in the iconic badge’s eight decades of production. Chevy spokesperson Trevor Tomkins said the company could not comment on personnel matters. The news of Charles’ departure sent shockwaves through the Corvette enthusiast community.

“I’m stunned that this happened. I worry that we have lost the people who listened to customers,” said Jake Drennan, 69, of Merritt Island, Florida, who's director of the Corvette C5, C6, C7, C8 Registry. The registry represents thousands of Corvette owners, many of whom make a pilgrimage to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, each year for Corvettes at Carlisle.

The sprawling Corvette-palooza is the largest Corvette car show in the world, and Juechter-Charles-Bennion religiously met with owners to swap stories, hear their wants and tease future tidbits.

“They did the right things,” said Drennan. “They listened to the customer. Harlan would always want to hear about what we wanted — what we wanted for the future. We never thought we would get a power-top Corvette, but they brought it out and made it successful. Harlan made those cars sell.”

Charles seemed devastated as well, sharing his emotions in a long LinkedIn post.

“My Corvette dream is over — my bubble burst,” wrote the 37-year GM veteran, who joined the Corvette team in 2001. “I am now retired. I can’t think about the future yet. I feel fortunate to have so made many friends over the years and customer relationships that have become family because of Corvette. I was your voice, and you helped us create what Corvette has become. I hope our friendships will continue even if I can’t help you anymore.”

Bennion joined the Corvette team in 1986 and Juechter in 1993. The pair oversaw a transformation of an American muscle car into one of the world’s fastest supercars. If Zora Arkus-Duntov was the “Father of the Corvette” — taking a fledgling coupe in 1957 and defining it as a cornerstone of GM performance engineering — then Juechter was the godfather, realizing Arkus-Duntov’s dream that the ‘Vette be a mid-engine supercar to take on the world’s best.

Through genius engineering, marketing and customer relations, the trio transformed the Chevy’s interior across three model generations into a luxury cockpit. They delivered consistent international racing success and developed a mid-engine C8 chassis that was the equal of European supercars for a quarter of the price.

“In my judgment, Tadge is one of the industry’s greatest engineers, blessed with both the requisite technical background but also — and equally importantly — a strong drive for perfection of the product,” former GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz told The News last year upon Juechter’s retirement. “It’s no wonder that the Corvette, under his leadership, has gained an international reputation for being comparable to foreign hypercars costing a multiple of the Corvette price.”

GM veteran Tony Roma was announced as Juechter’s replacement last summer and is putting in place a new team. The transition to new management of Corvette comes at a time when General Motors is transitioning to an all-electric automaker — and when rumors are swirling that Corvette will soon expand to a Chevy sub-brand similar to Ford’s Mustang. The Mustang badge now adorns a turbo-4 and V-8-powered sports car and electric, four-door Mach-E SUV.

Corvette rumors include an electric four-door sedan similar to a Porsche Taycan EV to complement the next generation, C9 supercar. The C8 is already the first electrified Corvette with an all-wheel-drive hybrid Corvette E-Ray grand tourer — in conjunction with the traditional, track-focused Z06 performance model — as part of the lineup.

Roma moved to his Corvette post — where he also leads GM's newly formed luxury and performance car team — from a position as chief engineer for the electric Cadillac Celestiq. A Nürburgring-licensed race driver (like his boss, GM President Mark Reuss), Roma has experience in the Corvette program as well as with Cadillac’s gas-powered V-series and Blackwing performance hellions.

Said Roma last summer upon assuming his new position: "I'm approaching this opportunity with deep respect and admiration for the hard work from those who came before me. Corvette earned and continues to earn its place in American car history thanks to the people behind it, like Tadge Juechter. These are big shoes to fill, but we will work every day to continue the strong legacy this nameplate deserves."

The Juechter-Charles-Bennion legacy will be the C8 — a car originally greenlighted in 2007 but then canceled due to the 2009 recession and GM bankruptcy. The Corvette team persevered and the car has sold like hot cakes with its latest iteration — the 1,063-horsepower ZR1 — due to hit showroom floors soon.

Owner Drennan remembers designer Bennion sweating the little things. Walking around the all-new mid-engine Corvette on display for the first time in 2020 at the 24 Hours of Daytona, Drennan pointed at the chromed exhaust tips. “You are going to have to make those black.”

Two years later, his (and other enthusiasts’) wish was granted.

“I have had the greatest life I could have ever imagined because of Corvette,” wrote Charles in his farewell LinkedIn post. “We were able to prove that America can compete with the best in the world and win. No one can take away what I think is Corvette’s best era in history. I had the honor of working with Corvette legends like Tadge Juechter and Kirk Bennion. Tony Roma and the rest of the team have my best wishes for the future.”

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