The Luce EV arrived in Rome on Monday night, making a big statement as Ferrari’s (RACE) first fully electric car. Featuring a design vastly different from the Italian automaker’s current offerings, the company argues that change was needed for the first “electric Ferrari,” with a new market, new clients in focus, and a price of $640,000 or more.
Market reaction to the car was negative on Tuesday morning, with Ferrari shares trading in New York down over 5%.
While current Ferrari sports cars like the Amalfi, 296 GTB, and even the Purosangue SUV share recognizable similarities like muscular fenders, a wide track, and hexagonal grilles and aggressive air intakes, the Luce is a departure.
The aerodynamics-forward design features a wedge-shaped glass-domed shell that houses the cabin, which sits between the front and rear sections of the car, almost floating. The Luce fenders are narrower and less aggressive than a typical Ferrari, and it features a higher cabin and seating position due to the battery positioned on the floor.
Overall, surfaces are smooth, continuous, and convex, with no sharp edges or angles. And maybe that’s because Maranello-based Ferrari commissioned LoveFrom, the creative agency founded by former Apple chief designer Jony Ive, to lead design on both the exterior and interior.
“We want to bring something that we consider as a game changer, really talk in a different language,” Ferrari’s chief commercial officer, Enrico Galliera, said in an interview with Yahoo Finance. “We can maintain our current [design language], which is the current offer, satisfying our clients, and we want to test something completely different with different approaches.”
The Luce highlights distinct advancements Ferrari has made with electrification. It has a quad-motor setup, or as Ferrari calls it, “electric engines” powering each wheel, for instant response and increased agility. In addition to the four motors, the Luce features four-wheel steering and a new adaptive suspension system, giving the car more control and better handling.
The motors include carbon sleeves for weight savings and faster rotational speeds, as well as high-voltage inverter tech that comes directly from its racing efforts. The power under the Luce’s skin is impressive, producing over 1050 horsepower and a sub 2.5 second 0-60mph time.
But it’s the design that has the automotive world, and Ferrari fans, at attention. Galliera was blunt about why Ferrari felt it had to start from scratch rather than electrify an existing platform like the Purosangue.
