Ferrari Luce Design Puts the Brand’s Identity to the Test

The Ferrari Luce’s most consequential design choice may be the decision to look unlike a familiar Ferrari. Its tall, five-seat electric crossover shape and minimalist detailing put distance between the car and the long-hooded, low-slung forms that have defined the marque. That could help it reach new customers. It also asks existing enthusiasts to accept a sharp break with what they expect the Prancing Horse to represent.

The risk is larger than one model’s reception. Ferrari has built its appeal through scarcity and a close relationship with owners: the source article estimates lifetime production at about 350,000 cars, roughly what Porsche makes in a year. In 2024, 81 percent of Ferrari buyers already owned one, and 48 percent had multiple Ferraris. A car aimed beyond that established circle has to make a case for itself in both design and experience.

The Luce has drawn sharp criticism from traditional enthusiasts, although resistance to electric cars was always likely to color reactions. Ferrari knows an EV without a high-revving combustion engine would challenge its usual emotional formula. The choice to proceed suggests the company expects the model to speak to a different audience, even if some longtime customers remain unconvinced.

An outside perspective inside the cabin

Ferrari hired LoveFrom, the design firm founded by former Apple designers Jony Ive and Marc Newson, to shape the Luce. That’s a striking choice in a field where automotive design is shaped by specialized technical demands and a strong internal culture. The result feels closer to product design than to the visual language Ferrari has developed over decades.

The cabin is where that outside view appears most useful. Recent Ferrari interiors have faced criticism for their reliance on haptic controls, while the Luce brings back well-made physical buttons and levers. Its dials and carefully arranged controls feel considered, and the restrained layout is easier to read than a cabin dominated by touch surfaces.

There’s a question of fit, though. The minimalist treatment might feel like an appealing throwback in an affordable sports coupe, but the Luce is presented as a $640,000 luxury car. At that price, restraint alone may not convey the sense of occasion buyers expect. The cabin’s quality and usability will matter, but its design also has to feel specific to a Ferrari.

New proportions, difficult trade-offs

Exterior design faces a tougher assignment. Without the visual cue of a long engine pushing the cabin rearward, and with room needed for five occupants, luggage and an underfloor battery, the Luce takes on a compact, rounded volume. Its size and stance depart from the proportions most readily associated with Ferrari sports cars.

The Purosangue showed how hard it is to give a tall Ferrari the right presence. Flavio Manzoni and his team worked to disguise the SUV’s bulk, while its long hood and short rear section still gave them a familiar design foundation. LoveFrom had no such template for the Luce, and its more direct, minimalist approach makes the crossover’s height and mass harder to disguise.

Several details try to add motion to the shape. A rising beltline and large 24-inch wheels give the side a pronounced wedge, while black lower bodywork creates contrast with the painted panels above. From some front three-quarter angles, the lower section seems to project beyond the upper surface, forming a blunt, beak-like front. The rear is tall and abrupt, an effect amplified by the body’s overall height.

The designers describe an inner volume with an outer skin that appears to float over it. The idea is visible at both ends, though the rear opening’s contours look soft, and the gap beneath the deck leaves the lights sitting low against the body. The simplified four-light arrangement is a welcome link to Ferrari tradition; the surrounding form makes that familiar detail work harder than it should.

A deliberate wager on a different buyer

The criticism has reached beyond design specialists. Luca di Montezemolo, Ferrari’s former chairman, said the Luce “risks destroying a legend” and that he hoped the Prancing Horse would be removed from the car. CEO Benedetto Vigna has defended the model after its Rome launch, saying there was “strong interest, including from new clients.” He also said prospective buyers at the event had already sent bank transfers.

Montezemolo’s judgment carries weight given his role in Ferrari’s business and racing resurgence after Enzo Ferrari’s death in 1988. Still, early interest from new customers gives the company a reason to press on. The source points to younger technology entrepreneurs and luxury buyers in China as audiences who may respond differently from the brand’s traditional clientele.

My read is that the Luce’s unconventional design is intentional, but intention won’t settle whether it feels convincing as a Ferrari. The cabin offers a persuasive argument for physical controls and disciplined simplicity; the exterior is less successful at making a tall electric crossover look distinctive and desirable. Ferrari is testing how far its name can stretch to reach new buyers. The response to the Luce will show whether those buyers see a fresh expression of the marque—or a shape too far removed from it.