Ferrari officially released the first pure electric car since the brand was founded:Ferrari Luce, priced from €550,000 (approximately NT$19 million). This four-door, five-seater electric sports car, designed by the LoveFrom design team led by former Apple design director Jony Ive, is not only Ferrari’s first breakthrough in five-seater design, it can also be said to be the most controversial design revolution of the Italian supercar brand since its inception.
LoveFrom: Jony Ive and Marc Newson’s Ferrari debut
The most eye-catching highlight of the birth of Ferrari Luce is the appointment of LoveFrom, a design firm founded by former Apple design director Jony Ive in 2019, to be responsible for the interior and exterior design of the car. This is not only LoveFrom’s first complete car design, but also designer Marc Newson’s second production car after the 1999 Ford 021C concept car.
Ferrari officially describes the Luce’s exterior design language as a “smooth, continuous, uninterrupted” shell-like form, with floating aerodynamic wings at the front and rear. The headlights and taillights adopt a dark panel lighting design, and the wipers are stored in an upright position next to the A-pillar. The body is made of all-aluminum alloy and is 197.9 inches (approximately 5.03 meters) long, 2 inches longer than the Purosangue. However, the height of the car is only 60.8 inches (approximately 1.54 meters), which is about 2 inches shorter than the Purosangue.
So incredibly proud of the thoughtfulness, craft, and care the team brought to every detail. pic.twitter.com/C0TsbKDh5q
— Mike Matas (@mike_matas) May 25, 2026
The doors adopt a central split design (the front door has a traditional hinge, and the rear door has a “suicide door” hinge at the rear). The rear door is also equipped with an electric closing button, making getting in and out of the car more ceremonial. Ferrari claims the Luce’s drag coefficient is lower than that of any current production Ferrari model, key features being front and rear tunnel spoilers and an active grille with three heat exchangers.
Interior: insistence on physical buttons and OLED digital instruments
Unlike many supercar brands that fully embrace the trend of touch screens, the interior of Ferrari Luce demonstrates LoveFrom’s unique philosophy on “fusion of digital and physical”. The center console uses precision-cut mechanical buttons, dials, levers and switches, and is paired with a multi-functional OLED digital display screen. The central touch screen is of medium size and can be rotated towards the driver or front passenger, and there is a similar control panel in the rear seat center armrest.
Tactile controls and digital interactions blend into one cohesive interface, shaped through deep collaboration across engineering, interaction, graphics, typography, sound, and industrial design. pic.twitter.com/j9IX2JXdG7
— Mike Matas (@mike_matas) May 25, 2026
The steering wheel does away with the much-criticized touch panel on the Purosangue and returns to a physical switch configuration, including two manettino knobs (standard five-segment + e-manettino power control). The large shift paddles on both sides of the steering wheel control kinetic energy recovery (left) and torque output (right) respectively. The steering wheel itself is machined from 100% recycled aluminum.
The instrument panel uses a three-ring OLED digital display design. The metal ring on the outer ring makes it look like a traditional analog instrument, but it is actually a digital screen within a digital screen. The center displays speed and battery capacity, the left side displays available power and kinetic energy recovery levels, and the right side displays customizable content. In addition, the central drive shaft and rear gearbox were eliminated from the vehicle, making the Luce the first five-seater model in Ferrari history, and the rear luggage compartment is also the largest in Ferrari history.
Performance specifications: 1,035 horsepower, 0-100 mph in 2.5 seconds
As Ferrari’s first electric car, the Luce’s performance figures are unequivocal. Equipped with four Ferrari-made synchronous permanent magnet electric motors (282 hp on the front axle and 831 hp on the rear axle), the total output is up to 1,035 hp, which is more than any fuel-powered Ferrari model. It accelerates from 0-100 km/h in just 2.5 seconds, 0-200 km/h in 6.8 seconds, and has a top speed of 193 mph (approximately 311 km/h). The roof console is equipped with a pull-type starter handle, which not only optimizes the tracking control system but also unlocks an additional 54 horsepower of torque boost when activated.
In terms of battery, Luce is equipped with a 122 kWh (total capacity) battery pack, which is also designed and manufactured independently by Ferrari and serves as a chassis structural element. It adopts 800V architecture and supports up to 350 kW fast charging. WLTP range estimate is 330 miles (approximately 531 kilometers), and EPA standard estimate is approximately 280 miles (approximately 450 kilometers).
The chassis is equipped with a four-wheel steering system and active suspension derived from the F80. The brake disc diameter is 15.4 inches in front and 14.6 inches in rear. The rim size is 23 inches at the front and 24 inches at the rear, which is the largest size in the history of Ferrari production cars. There are two options: traditional five-spoke type and aerodynamic turbine type, the latter can reduce wind resistance by 5%.
Sound Design: Not Synthetic Sounds, But the “Electric Guitar” Philosophy
For a Ferrari, the sound of the engine has always been at the heart of the brand experience. Luce’s acoustic design was described by Ferrari Chief Product Development Officer Gianmaria Fulgenzi as “one of the biggest challenges of the car.” Instead of simply playing recordings of the V12 engine, Ferrari developed a patented system that installed an acoustic pickup on the rear axle, sampled the mechanical vibrations from the rear axle electric motor, and then amplified and processed them in a manner similar to an electric guitar amplifier.
The driver can adjust the sound intensity through the e-manettino mode selector: “Perfo” mode provides maximum auditory feedback, “Tour” is the mid-range soundscape, and “Range” is the quietest mode. Regardless of the setting, the vehicle also projects sound to the outside, giving pedestrians a sense of the Ferrari’s presence.
Bipolar reviews: a design revolution with mixed reviews
Luce’s dramatic appearance sparked heated discussions on social media. BBC The report pointed out, the community’s reaction was polarized: some criticized “Ferrari just killed its own brand, just like Jaguar did” and even said “This is straight up junkyard scrap metal”; but others praised “an absolute masterclass in design, Ferrari just released the stunning Luce concept car, which is a complete game changer.”
Ferrari Chief Design Officer Flavio Manzoni admitted in an interview with YouTuber Cleo Abram that the electric Ferrari with the new design language did “spark polarizing reactions”, but he believed that people would gradually understand and appreciate it in a few months.
In terms of market positioning, the emergence of Luce also highlights the huge differences in the trend of electrification of supercars. Lamborghini has canceled its all-electric plans, and CEO Stephan Winklemann bluntly stated that buyer interest is “close to zero.” McLaren CEO Nick Collins has reservations about pure electrics; Aston Martin has postponed the launch of EVs from 2027 to 2030. Porsche has also scaled back electrification due to weak demand.
Ferrari Executive Chairman John Elkann’s response showed the brand’s confidence: “We are expanding the possibilities of Ferrari, not losing the essence of Ferrari.”
As for the former chairman’s speech, he was more honest:
Time to market and price
The Ferrari Luce will be first launched in the European market at the end of 2026, with a starting price in Europe of €550,000 (approximately NT$19 million), making it Ferrari’s most expensive production model currently, much higher than the Purosangue, which costs approximately US$430,000 (approximately NT$14 million). The U.S. market is expected to be introduced in the second quarter of 2027, and U.S. pricing has not yet been announced. Ferrari also stated that it will continue to offer fuel and petrol-electric hybrid models, which will be sold in parallel with the pure electric Luce.
Introducing Ferrari Luce, the first electric Ferrari designed by LoveFrom. pic.twitter.com/1zxX1zsbTW
— Mike Matas (@mike_matas) May 25, 2026
Conclusion
Ferrari Luce is not only the brand’s first pure electric car, but also Jony Ive’s most significant design work since leaving Apple. From the opening doors and insistence on physical buttons to the patented electric motor sound system, Luce challenges people’s existing imagination of Ferrari on many levels. Whether this electric Ferrari, priced at nearly NT$20 million, can succeed in the conservative supercar collector market will be an important indicator of whether the luxury sports car brand is willing to continue operating the electric vehicle route.
Source: KOCPC Chinese