Over the past decade of covering the intersection of consumer tech and the auto industry, I’ve seen my fair share of polarizing product launches. But nothing has quite broken the internet and perhaps a few purists’ hearts, like the all-new Ferrari Luce.
Maranello’s first foray into the fully electric vehicle space was never going to be a quiet affair, even if its powertrain is. But what nobody expected was a five-seater electric Ferrari sculpted by LoveFrom, the design firm founded by legendary former Apple design chief Jony Ive.
Ive is the visionary who gave us the sleek lines of the early iPhone, the iMac, and notoriously, the Magic Mouse. Unsurprisingly, the online reception hasn’t been entirely kind. From armchair critics to former Ferrari employees, the backlash has been swift and brutal.
Let’s address the elephant in the room: yes, it does look a bit like an Apple Magic Mouse with wheels.
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The Burden of the Badge
When you stick the Prancing Horse on a hood, you are making a promise. You are tapping into a legacy built on roaring V12s, aggressive aerodynamics, and a mechanical drama that makes the driver feel alive.
To be completely honest, the exterior design of the Luce hurts. In the pursuit of EV efficiency, automakers have increasingly adopted hyper-aerodynamic, teardrop shapes. Mercedes-Benz proved this with the ultra-efficient, water-drop silhouettes of their EQ line. Aerodynamics in the EV space aren’t just for downforce; they dictate your range.
But a Ferrari shouldn’t just slip invisibly through the air; it should command it. The Luce’s shell-like glasshouse and rounded, minimalist edges feel like they prioritize a Silicon Valley tech-product aesthetic over the visceral, aggressive stance we expect from an Italian supercar.
Where the Luce Shines: A Retro-Futuristic Cabin
Step inside the rear-hinged doors (a first for the brand), however, and the narrative abruptly changes. If the exterior is a controversial departure, the interior is an absolute triumph. Here, Jony Ive’s obsessive attention to detail shines in the best way possible.
The cabin strikes a delicate, gorgeous balance between future and retro. Ferrari didn’t just slap a massive iPad on the dashboard and call it a day. Instead, they leaned into physical tactility, a machined three-spoke aluminum steering wheel, mechanical hands layered seamlessly over Samsung OLED displays, and physical knobs that click with satisfying precision.
It feels less like a sterile spaceship and more like a heavy, expensive mechanical chronograph (a look that you see on the new Bugatti and Koenigsegg prodcuts). The little touches, from the analog-style stopwatch to the meticulously crafted hinges, remind you that this is, underneath the battery pack, a bespoke luxury product.
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Performance That Demands Respect
Of course, a Ferrari is nothing without its numbers, and the Luce is undeniably a hypercar built on a skateboard platform. Priced at a staggering $640,000, it sits in an echelon far above your typical luxury EV.
With four independent electric motors pushing out a combined 1,035 horsepower, it does the 0-100 kmph sprint in under 2.5 seconds. Those figures pit it directly against the current kings of the performance EV space, like the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT and the Lucid Air Sapphire.
But unlike those cars, which chase Nürburgring records or massive battery ranges, Ferrari claims the Luce prioritizes lateral dynamics and the emotional feel of driving. Its proprietary Vehicle Control Unit adjusts power output across all four wheels 200 times a second, aiming to replicate the agility of a lightweight mid-engine supercar in a vehicle that weighs nearly 5,000 pounds (2.2 Tons).
The Bottomline: A Necessary Evolution?
It’s easy to dismiss the Ferrari Luce as a $640,000 design experiment gone rogue. The aesthetic departure is jarring, and for those of us who grew up with posters of the F40 or Enzo on our walls, the lack of mechanical drama feels a bit like sacrilege.
But design is inherently subjective. What we are seeing right now, could have been the rumoured Apple EV if Ive had stayed back for the project. While the internet continues to churn out memes comparing it to random items. The Luce will find a place in people’s hearts, specifically the core Ferrari buyers. The ultra-wealthy who want a piece of automotive history.
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Love it or hate it, the Luce is a necessary stepping stone. It proves that Ferrari is willing to take monumental risks. And even if you can’t stomach the exterior, the brilliant interior tech, the layered OLED displays, and the advanced torque-vectoring software are all innovations we will eventually see trickle down into the future models. We might as well see a version of the Luce from Chinese automakers soon, perhaps they could do the design a justice.
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