Luca Cordero di Montezemolo was Ferrari’s president from 1991 to 2014, and now that he sits on the board of his historic rival, McLaren, he can speak more freely about the Prancing Horse brand. So much so that his latest comments about the new Ferrari Luce have set social media on fire.
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Asked for his opinion on the new electric model, Montezemolo hesitated, exhaled, ran his fingers through his hair in a gesture of indecision, and spoke: “If I said what I think, it would harm Ferrari. There’s a risk of destroying a myth.”
The Luce is an insult to purists, but a brave step for Ferrari
The new Ferrari Luce has been unveiled, and it’s attracted the same kind of reaction as the Jaguar Type 00 or the recently announced Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupé: everyone has pounced on it. The design is so radical — the work of Apple’s former design chief, Jony Ive — that few can recognize any trace of the brand in it. Ferrari describes it as a bold move and “a creative collective capable of delivering a broader, multidisciplinary vision of luxury, one that encourages cross-fertilization and the introduction of new languages.”
But the man who led Ferrari for many years does not describe it that way. In remarks that hinted the brand may have shot itself in the foot beyond recovery, Montezemolo added: “I deeply regret it. I only hope they at least remove the prancing horse from that car.” “This,” he added, “is certainly a car that Chinese buyers will not copy.”
Montezemolo’s stance is echoed by everyone with a voice on social networks (“it seems like a cross between an electric Honda Accord and a Tesla Model 3”), but it also resonates in the market. Following the Luce’s unveiling, Ferrari’s shares fell as much as 8% in the Milan morning session on Tuesday, before recovering and finishing the day down about 6%, suggesting investors were unsure whether the launch would be a success.
We’ll have to see how demand evolves in the long term, but the features of the brand’s first ever electric car point more toward wealthy families than toward die-hard enthusiasts of the marque.
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