In defence of the Ferrari Luce…

So, on the 26th of May, 2026, Ferrari has revealed their vision of an electric Ferrari, called the Luce. And it’s safe to say that even though no one outside of Ferrari have driven one (probably) it has been nothing short of controversial.

The sentiment is negative.

And it’s easy to see why. It looks… not pretty, let’s just say. It’s not a particularly ugly car, per say, but not pretty either, but let’s get to that later. It might be helped if it has some performance figures that kinda justify the enormous price tag, but as far as I can tell, it doesn’t. It’s a very fast electric car, even for an EV, but nothing record breaking. The only thing that’s special about it seems to be the badge in front of the bonnet.

Let’s talk about the badge.

In the automotive world, Ferrari is a special name. It is one of the only makes that came from racing, not to racing: that is to say brands like Ford or Toyota or even Mercedes-Benz, started out building road cars. Racing, apart from everything else, was, is just a marketing campaign for them, hence the term “win on Sunday, sell on Monday”. Ferrari was the other way around. Old man Enzo was a racing man, and to fund his racing, he needed to build road cars.

Such is the special pedigree that the brand has. That is why whenever there is a new Ferrari, the collective automotive world watches with bait breath. Even if it’s just a model for rich people to buy so that they can earn a spot to buy the really special Ferraris (things like the LaFerrari, the 12 Cilindri,…). Everyone wants Ferrari to do well, even if they are competing directly. As much as Ferrari needs to world to buy key chains and posters and whatnot, the world needs Ferrari to pump out cars that remind people that cars are not just appliance. It doesn’t have to be the fastest in its class, it just needs to be fast enough and more importantly, makes the driver feels like they’re in a racing car.

Within the automotive landscape, Ferrari rivals the Catholic Church. Okay, that might be a sketch, but let’s just say the Rosso Corsa is one of if not the most iconic colours in the automotive world.

Yet… if you’re reading this, none of this is new.

You’re probably like me, hating on the car. So let’s talk about the car.

Yes, it looks like a toy. Yes, like the California, it’s a stepping stone to a fancier Fezza. Yes, it’s boosting the values of F90s and 296s. All of that are correct. It might as well be one of the brand’s blunders, and they have had their share of blunders.

I’d say the Luce’s biggest crime is its looks. Like I’ve said, a Ferrari doesn’t have to be the fastest in its class, it just needs to make the driver believes that they’re in a racecar with number plates. Yes, being fast helps, but it also needs to look fast and feel fast. Feeling is obscure, right? Because even though it probably weighs nearly as much as a house, unless you’re on a racetrack and some serious driving skills, you probably won’t be able to tell it apart from actually faster cars. Cars nowadays are so good (in general) that normal driving will most likely never see them close to their limits.

But looks, the design, that, everyone can see. And in my humble opinion the Luce missed the mark entirely. It looks… like an iPhone. No, really. At least we know that Ive really had a say on how he envisioned the car, but I don’t think that it works. Because it’s conflicting. The exterior is that of a crossover-thingy. Definitely not low enough to be an estate or a supercar, but nowhere high enough to be a proper SUV. It’s a very boring approach, let’s just say. But whatever, a few slits here and there, some design cues (the suicide doors are nice),… and it’s not the worst thing in the world. Not 550,000 Euros, but not a dumpster fire either.

The interior I really have a bone to pick with. The paddles and the design of the gauge cluster and the steering wheel indicate sportiness. Motorsport-inspired, even. But the large tablet and the gear selector and the rest of the cabin looks like a typical luxury-ish car. Say what you will about the 458 and later the 488’s interior, they might be cluttered, but you know you’re in a sporty car. The Luce… not so much. It’s confused about what it really wants to be.

Having said that, it’s really easy to be affected by the crowd. Like, when the iPhone first came out, people scoffed at it. Nokia didn’t even care. Now,… yeah, let’s not kick someone while they’re down, shall we? It could be a new direction for Ferrari, for a new class of customers. After all, the people who are going to buy Ferraris are still going to buy Ferraris, whether to collect or to invest on the special editions. To them, they couldn’t care less if the cars are good, they care if the boring cars are going to depreciate faster than the interesting cars are going to appreciate, and in that regard, so far, Ferrari is still doing fine. Maybe this is an experiment or even an end result of a experiment that says that the new potential customers are younger kids who are into tech, like a “minimal” and “industrial” design, while still retain some of the racing pedigree, not racecars with softer suspensions and a pair of number plates. Maybe in that regard, the Luce is not a failure, even given the current situation. Because let’s face it, it would be a very long time before I consider buying a Ferrari or a car of that nature. To even consider that car as a car, you’d need to be so incredibly well-off that you’d be comfortable in the top 1% of the world, and that’s not most people, so why would Ferrari care about the people who at most are just going to buy hats and T-shirts and whatnot?