The first Ferrari electric car in history is the Ferrari Luce, a 5.02‑meter‑long SUV weighing 2,260 kg that uses four electric motors to develop 1,050 hp.
Since its unveiling, it has continued to provoke controversy, not so much for being electric as for its controversial design.
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The most daring Ferrari of all time
Ferrari has just unveiled its first electric car, the Ferrari Luce, and it has managed to ignite the internet in an unprecedented way; in fact, we can say it is already the most controversial car of recent years. Yes, more than the Jaguar Type 00 or the newly unveiled Mercedes-AMG GT 4‑Door Coupé.
The thing is that people expected this car to spark controversy for being electric, but its zero‑emission status has taken a back seat and what is generating all kinds of comments is its design. Why? Very simple, because it is the least Ferrari Ferrari in history.
Design is subjective, and what I might love, you might find terrible. That’s undeniable, but objectively speaking it’s fair to say that the new Ferrari Luce is, at the very least, odd. Some people even claim it is unworthy of the Cavallino Rampante badge and that if Enzo Ferrari were to rise and see it, he would go back to his tomb.
But before we dive in, a bit of context: the Ferrari Luce is the brand’s second SUV after the Purosangue, yet it is the company’s first electric car, so Ferrari refers to this SUV as the model that opens a new chapter for the brand.
Ferrari has been betting on electrification for several years through hybridization, and launching a 100% electric car even makes sense when you consider the current automotive landscape and, above all, where the industry is headed.
Whether we like it or not, the future of cars is electric, and it was only a matter of time before Ferrari released its first zero‑emissions model, just as Rolls‑Royce did in the past, and Porsche did, or now Mercedes‑AMG with the aforementioned GT 4‑Door Coupé.
The result is a four‑door SUV (the rear doors adopt a suicide‑style opening, i.e., they swing open backward) with five seats, measuring 5.02 meters in length, 2.00 meters in width, 1.54 meters in height and weighing 2,260 kg. Yes, you read that correctly: we are looking at a Ferrari that comes close to 2.3 tonnes. Still, it isn’t the heaviest electric on the market; in fact, there are sporty plug‑in hybrids that weigh even more, such as the BMW M5, which tops the scales at 2,510 kg, and that doesn’t make it any less sporty.
And Ferrari promises unprecedented handling in an electric SUV; after all, it has managed to distribute the weight almost perfectly, with 47% in front and 53% at the rear, while the weight‑to‑power ratio stands at 2.16 kg per hp, which isn’t bad at all.
It is thanks to the four electric motors it uses—one on each wheel—that the Luce delivers a combined maximum output of 1,050 hp and a peak torque of 990 Nm. The battery, meanwhile, has a gross capacity of 122 kWh, operates on an 800‑volt electrical architecture and can be charged at up to 350 kW. This is enough for the Luce to offer about 530 km of range.
In terms of performance, it’s very quick: 0–100 km/h in 2.5 seconds, 0–200 km/h in 6.8 seconds, with a top speed of 310 km/h.
If you analyze all these numbers, you’ll realize they’re not earth‑shattering. Yes, they’re impressive, but not mind‑blowing, especially now that there are electric cars as fast and powerful, not only from Chinese brands like Xiaomi and Denza, but from European firms that directly rival Ferrari, such as Porsche.
To give you an idea, the Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupé Electric measures 4.98 meters long, weighs 2,725 kg, has two motors producing 1,156 hp and 1,500 Nm of torque, accelerates from 0–100 km/h in 2.5 seconds and reaches 260 km/h, all with an official range of 628 km and a maximum charging power of 390 kW.
That’s part of why the Ferrari Luce is provoking so much controversy: on paper, it doesn’t appear to be groundbreaking or revolutionary. But the main reason for the controversy is its design. I repeat, it’s entirely subjective, but it’s hard to believe the same brand that has crafted some of the most beautiful cars in history would now launch this SUV.
One of the advantages traditional brands hold over newer Chinese firms, especially those as large as Ferrari, is that they can create brutal, highly expressive, utterly passionate designs. Yet the Luce feels more like a Chinese car than a Ferrari.
Note, unlike the latest models from the marque, this was not designed by Ferrari’s Design Studio but by an external group named LoveFrom.
Ferrari describes it as “a creative collective capable of bringing a broader, multidisciplinary view of luxury, one that favours cross‑pollination and the introduction of new languages.” That said, Ferrari’s chief designer Flavio Manzoni has led the LoveFrom team in designing this car.
The problem is that no one who sees it associates this design with Ferrari. And it isn’t because it’s an SUV; the Purosangue is also an SUV, it has a 100% Ferrari design and it is well liked. Simply, the lines of this car do not fit the brand’s DNA.
Furthermore, it doesn’t impress and even includes design choices that are hard to understand, such as the windshield wiper placement, which sits next to the A‑pillars, like in the second‑gen SEAT León, but less well integrated than in the Spanish hatch because it remains too visible. The proportions are also curious, and the only elements that recall other Ferraris are the circular rear lights. As for the color range, it’s offered in light blue, yellow, two shades of red, and white.
Personally, what stands out most to me are the five‑spoke forged wheels, even though the fronts are 23 inches and the rears 24 inches, the largest wheels a Ferrari has ever worn.
The interior is also innovative. We learned about it months ago and, as we told you then, the person responsible for shaping it was the former Apple designer Jony Ive. There are screens, as in all modern cars, but there are also physical buttons and a striking “neo‑retro” style that does not follow the exterior’s pattern.
And we still don’t know how it will sound. Ferrari states that “Designing the sound of the first electric Ferrari has represented one of the most stimulating and innovative challenges in the Cavallino Rampante’s recent history. Five years of development, including conceptual studies and 40,000 km of specific track testing, have yielded a novel approach aimed at achieving a precise balance between the propulsion system’s acoustic expression and an unprecedented level of acoustic and vibration comfort.”
The Luce is slated to go on sale immediately, and while we can’t confirm its price yet, reports point to a starting price of €550,000.
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