Ferrari presented Pope Leo XIV with a steering wheel from the new Luce.
The Pontiff asked the Italian brand’s chairman if the Luce was its first sedan.
Shares fell after the reveal, though the stock has since started to recover.
Ferrari is making a big hoopla about the Luce, its first-ever electric car. However, in the days since the vehicle’s unveiling, it’s not the fact that it doesn’t sip a drop of gasoline that’s generated headlines, but rather the controversial design. To say the reception to it has been frosty would be an understatement, and it doesn’t appear as though even Pope Leo XIV can get excited about it.
As part of the global premiere of Luce, Ferrari visited the Pope in Castel Gandolfo, a tiny hillside town he calls home when he’s not in Vatican City. A white-and-black Luce was presented to the Pope by Ferrari chairman John Elkann and chief executive Benedetto Vigna.
In a video shared by Ferrari from the visit, Pope Leo XIV is seen touring the electric Luce. Perhaps he’s not a car guy, but when Ferrari lifts the covers, he doesn’t appear particularly enamored, and we can’t blame him. Shortly before jumping behind the wheel, he asks if this is the “first four-door Ferrari,” which obviously it isn’t. Elkann confirms that it is the company’s first five-seater model. Even the head of the Catholic Church needed a moment to figure out what he was looking at.
The Luce is also the first Ferrari styled by an outside firm, specifically the design company led by Jony Ive, the former head of design at Apple. Whether Ferrari is comfortable with that arrangement now is another question. The car’s unveiling wiped more than $3 billion off the company’s market value, though the share price has begun clawing back ground over the past day.
Ferrari didn’t leave the Pope empty-handed. Rather than gifting him the car, the company presented Leo XIV with the Luce’s leather-and-aluminum three-spoke steering wheel, displayed in a clear case.
If Ferrari set out to get people talking with the Luce, then it’s certainly achieved that. The company has been candid that the Luce isn’t aimed at its traditional customer base, targeting instead young, ultra-high-net-worth buyers who have never owned a Ferrari before. Whether that audience is more enthusiastic about the styling than the Pope was remains to be seen.
Luca di Montezemolo says the Luce shouldn’t have the Prancing Horse badge.
Ferrari’s former boss says the Luce risks destroying the fabled Italian brand.
Italy’s deputy Prime Minister has also fiercely criticized the all-electric Ferrari.
Some car launches court controversy by accident. The Luce did it on purpose, and the man who ran Ferrari for two decades is not amused. Back in February, iPhone designer Jony Ive warned us the all-electric Ferrari Luce would be controversial. Even he likely did not anticipate how sharply the market would turn on the exterior design.
Just a few months ago, pundits were praising the interior of the Luce, which ditches the over-reliance on touch-sensitive controls found in other Ferraris in favor of physical buttons, switches, and toggles. But while LoveFrom, the design agency run by Ive that penned the Luce, nailed the cabin, the same cannot be said for the exterior. Even former Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo, who served as Chairman and CEO from 1991 to 2014, is not a fan.
Shortly after Ferrari pulled the wraps off the Luce, di Montezemolo gave Italian publication Askanews his unvarnished take. In his view, this is the rare Ferrari even the Chinese will not bother to copy.
“If I had to say what I really think, I would be hurting Ferrari,” he said. “We’re risking the destruction of a legend, and I’m very sorry about that. I hope they at least remove the Prancing Horse from that car. This is surely a car that at least the Chinese won’t copy from us.”
It’s not just di Montezemolo who appears shocked by the new Luce. Even Italy’s deputy prime minister and transport minister, Matteo Salvini, expressed his feelings on X.
“It looks nothing like a (Ferrari),” he wrote. “Is this supposed to be ‘innovation’? Who knows what Enzo Ferrari would say.”
Elettrica, costosissima (550 mila euro!) e, dal punto di vista estetico, si commenta da sola… Sembra tutto fuorché un'auto del Cavallino. E questa sarebbe “innovazione”? Chissà Enzo Ferrari cosa direbbe… pic.twitter.com/zITSlz1a9j
Shortly after Ferrari lifted the covers on the Luce, shares in the brand dropped 8.4 percent in Italy and 5.1 percent in the US. Ferrari has been open about its ambitions for the Luce to attract a new generation of wealthy buyers, particularly those who are environmentally focused, but whether or not it’ll even appeal to them remains to be seen.
Luca di Montezemolo says the Luce shouldn’t have the Prancing Horse badge.
Ferrari’s former boss says the Luce risks destroying the fabled Italian brand.
Italy’s deputy Prime Minister has also fiercely criticized the all-electric Ferrari.
In February, iPhone designer Jony Ive warned us that the all-electric Ferrari Luce would be controversial, but not even he would have predicted the market’s initial response to the car and its exterior design.
Just a few months ago, pundits praised the interior of the Luce, which eschews the over-reliance on touch-sensitive controls of other Ferrari models in favor of physical buttons, switches, and toggles. But while LoveFrom, the design agency run by Ive that designed the Luce, nailed the car’s interior, the same can’t be said about the exterior. Not even former Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo likes the car.
Shortly after Ferrari lifted the veil on the Luce, di Montezemolo briefly spoke with Italian publication Askanews about it. According to him, it’s the type of vehicle that not even the Chinese will be willing to copy.
“If I had to say what I really think, I would be hurting Ferrari,” he said. “We’re risking the destruction of a legend, and I’m very sorry about that. I hope they at least remove the Prancing Horse from that car. This is surely a car that at least the Chinese won’t copy from us.”
It’s not just di Montezemolo who appears shocked by the new Luce. Even Italy’s deputy prime minister and transport minister, Matteo Salvini, expressed his feelings on X.
“It looks nothing like a (Ferrari),” he wrote. “Is this supposed to be ‘innovation’? Who knows what Enzo Ferrari would say.”
Elettrica, costosissima (550 mila euro!) e, dal punto di vista estetico, si commenta da sola… Sembra tutto fuorché un'auto del Cavallino. E questa sarebbe “innovazione”? Chissà Enzo Ferrari cosa direbbe… pic.twitter.com/zITSlz1a9j
Shortly after Ferrari lifted the covers on the Luce, shares in the brand dropped 8.4 percent in Italy and 5.1 percent in the US. Ferrari has been open about its ambitions for the Luce to attract a new generation of wealthy buyers, particularly those who are environmentally focused, but whether or not it’ll even appeal to them remains to be seen.
Ferrari’s first electric car carries four motors and 1,035 horsepower.
The Luce seats five and adds a rear hatch, breaking with supercar tradition.
Sir Jonathan Ive’s LoveFrom handled the exterior and interior design.
We’ve officially entered a new automotive age that includes an electric Ferrari. We saw disguised test vehicles roaming around Europe. Executives talked around it. Spy photographers chased camouflaged prototypes. But there was always a sense that Maranello was buying itself more time before confronting what might be the biggest challenge in its modern history. Well, time’s up. Meet the Ferrari Luce.
Ferrari didn’t tiptoe into electrification either. Rather than building a low-volume experiment or a softened-up grand tourer, it has created something entirely new: a four-door, five-seat, four-motor EV making 1,035 hp (772 kW / 1,050 PS) and capable of hitting 62 mph (100 km/h) in just 2.5 seconds. That’s only marginally slower than a couple of American sedans that cost under $300,000.
The company says Luce (Italian for “light”) isn’t intended to be viewed as merely Ferrari’s EV. Instead, Maranello calls it a “Ferrari 360°,” a completely new product intended to broaden the brand without replacing combustion or hybrid models. To that end, it’s not a ‘supercar’ in the traditional sense, of course. Thanks to the EV architecture, this is the first Ferrari in history that can shuttle a driver and four passengers at the same time.
A Four-Door Ferrari Designed From Scratch
The Luce was shaped almost entirely by LoveFrom, the studio set up by Jony Ive and Marc Newson together after leaving Apple. Outside design houses are not new to Maranello. Pininfarina and Bertone, for example, have both left fingerprints on the brand over the decades. What is different this time, Ferrari says, is that LoveFrom was given the freedom to argue for something genuinely unconventional rather than refine an existing template.
The shape backs that up. Ferrari says the car is centered around an ultra-clean “glass house” design with floating front and rear aerodynamic wings. In reality, without the Ferrari badging, it would probably be tough for most everyday folks to tie this car back to the Prancing Horse brand.
Let’s start up front and work our way around. The Luce’s face features a huge frontal wing that mimics the good ol’ boys at Dodge with the Charger Daytona. There’s a secondary hood area behind it in gloss black and the two tones do tie the car to other modern cars within the Ferrari family. That said, the lighting and front fascia don’t really shout Ferrari in any way.
The Luce rides on gigantic 23-inch front and 24-inch rear wheels, the largest ever fitted to a production Ferrari road car. The overhangs are short, and behind the front wheels, you’ll find a large black panel that appears to be a vent for turbulent air in the wheel well. Beyond that, there’s not much to say of the side beyond the use of Tesla Cybertruck-style door poppers on the B-pillar and, as we suspected, suicide doors for the rear occupants.
The rear is where things get more interesting. The silhouette reads sedan at a glance, but the entire back panel lifts as a hatch, with the rear glass hinged into the tailgate rather than fixed to the roofline.
Ferrari points to the 360 Modena and 458 Italia as the inspiration, and this might be where the strongest ties to brand DNA actually show up. The lighting structure, on the other hand, could just as easily have someone thinking of a Nissan Skyline or a Chevrolet Impala. That probably is not the flattery Maranello was after, but it is worth remembering who drew the thing.
Ive was central to the design of the original iPhone, and Newson worked on the Apple Watch and various special editions. Today, the original iPhone is a flagship moment in design. The Luce probably won’t go down in the history books with as much gravity, but perhaps over the years it’ll age like fine wine.
The Cabin
The details are where things start getting nerdy. The steering wheel itself is machined from recycled aluminum and works with a moving binnacle that travels with the wheel to keep key information directly in the driver’s line of sight. Ferrari also mixed physical controls with digital interfaces rather than going all-in on touchscreens. That means actual switches, dials, and toggles still exist alongside OLED displays developed specifically for the Luce.
Then there are the oddball touches that sound peak Ferrari. The key itself uses Corning Gorilla Glass and E Ink technology, and docking it triggers a startup sequence where Ferrari yellow reportedly spreads across the cabin interface.
There’s also a physical overhead pull that activates Launch Mode because, apparently, pressing a button was considered too ordinary. Add in optional massage seats, rear passenger controls, and a 21-speaker, 3,000-watt audio system (more than you get in a seven-passenger Jeep Grand Wagoneer), and the Luce starts sounding less like a stripped-out supercar and more like Ferrari looked at luxury EV buyers and decided to build them something entirely new.
Performance And Power
Power is key, and clearly this thing has it, but let’s talk about weight for a moment first, as it defines how far performance can go in many aspects. The Luce tips the scales at 2,260 kg (4,982 lbs), which means Ferrari’s first EV arrives carrying nearly two-and-a-half tons of mass. That’s not exactly featherweight territory, even by modern EV standards.
Then again, Ferrari engineers seem acutely aware of that reality. The company says the low-mounted battery, four-motor setup, torque vectoring, and packaging give the car responses comparable to something roughly 400 kg lighter. That’s a bold claim, but at this point, Ferrari can’t really make small ones.
The Luce was never going to be judged like a normal EV. Nobody expects Ferrari to simply build a quicker alternative to a luxury electric sedan or crossover. The brand’s entire reputation rests on making machines that feel special, irrational, and emotional.
An Electric Guitar Approach to Ferrari Noise
Sound is one of the levers Ferrari pulls to get there, and crucially the Luce’s is not piped in or synthesized, which is the standard playbook for EVs trying to sound interesting. A precision accelerometer mounted in the rear axle housing captures the real vibrations of the rotating components, and a patented system then “filters, equalises and amplifies the signal in a similar way to an electric guitar, but only when functional to the driving experience.” Ferrari calls the result authentic and functional, and the driver can turn it up or down at will.
There’s also a unique torque shift engagement system designed to deliver a feeling of “engine braking worthy of a sports car.” Speaking of torque, the Luce leverages four electric motors that Ferrari derived from the F80 supercar. The vehicle uses an elastically-mounted subframe to dampen road harshness while the motors produce up to 1,035 hp (772 kW) together.
It has a 122 kWh battery pack, an 800V architecture, and can recover 70 kWh in 20 minutes when using a DC fast charger capable of delivering up to 350 kW. The entire battery pack does more than hold cells. It is a structural member, contributing a 25 percent gain in bending rigidity and 35 percent in torsional rigidity over previous four-door Ferrari applications. At this rate, given all the changes, I’m a little surprised it’s not carrying a Dino badge.
Europe First, U.S. Buyers Wait Until 2027
Ferrari opens European order books later this year with a price tag around €520,000, or over $600,000 at today’s rates. North America will have to wait longer. The Luce does not land at U.S. dealers until Q2 2027, and Maranello has not said what it will charge here.
QUICK FACTS
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT
Length
197.9 in (5026 mm)
Width (without mirrors)
78.7 in (1999 mm)
Height
60.8 in (1544 mm)
Wheelbase
116.6 in (2961 mm)
Front track
66.8 in (1696 mm)
Rear track
66.5 in (1690 mm)
Kerb weight*
4982 lbs (2260 kg)
Kerb weight to power ratio
4.76 lbs/hp (2.16 kg/cv)
Weight distribution
47% front / 53% rear
Trunk capacity
21.1 cu ft (597 l)
TIRES
Front
265/35 R23 J9.5
Rear
315/30 R24 J11
BRAKES
Front
CCM, 15.4 x 1.3 in (390 x 34 mm)
Rear
CCM, 14.6 x 1.3 in (372 x 34 mm)
POWERTRAIN
Number of electric engines
4 (one per wheel)
Maximum power**
1,035 hp (772 kW / 1050 PS)
Maximum torque, measured at the engines**
730 lb-ft (990 Nm)
Maximum torque, measured at the wheels
8,482 lb-ft (11500 Nm)
FRONT E-AXLE
Power at the axle
282 hp (210 kW)
Torque at the wheels**
2,508 lb-ft (3400 Nm)
Torque at the engines**
207 lb-ft (280 Nm)
Power density
3.23 kW/kg (93% efficiency)
Engine revs
30,000 rpm
Weight
143 lbs (65 kg)
REAR E-AXLE
Power at the axle
831 hp (620 kW)
Torque at the wheels**
5716 lb-ft (7750 Nm)
Torque at the engines**
524 lb-ft (710 Nm)
Power density
4.80 kW/kg (93% efficiency)
Engine revs
25,500 rpm
Weight
284 lbs (129 kg)
BATTERY
No. of cells
210 (15 modules with 14 cells)
Total power density
195 Wh/kg
Cell power density
305 Wh/kg
Gross capacity
122 kWh
Maximum voltage
800 V
Maximum recharge power
350 kW
PERFORMANCE
0-62 mph (0-100 km/h)
2.5 s
0-124 mph (0-200 km/h)
6.8 s
Maximum speed
193 mph (310 km/h)
Range***
329 miles (530 km)
Consumption (WLTP cycle)
Under homologation
SWIPE
* With optional equipment, ** In Launch Control mode, *** Estimation (under homologation)
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