Ferrari Luce design sparks a wave of criticism
Within just a week, two automakers — Mercedes-AMG and Ferrari — unveiled their fully electric four-door models, which drew harsh criticism due to controversial design. The reception for the Ferrari Luce was particularly cold, leading to a mass sell-off of the company’s shares and the emergence of numerous memes mocking the new model.
Why doesn’t Luce look like a Ferrari?
For the first time in a long while, the Luce has become the first model from the Italian brand that doesn’t resemble a Ferrari at all. This is not surprising, as the design was developed by the studio LoveFrom, founded by Jony Ive, known as the designer of the iPhone. Importantly, LoveFrom specializes in industrial design, not automotive, and the Luce proves that creating a car is far more complex than developing yet another smartphone.
AI parody of the presentation
While searching for the most interesting reactions to the Luce design online, we came across a funny AI-generated video that mocks both the car’s appearance and Ferrari’s business practices. The clip shows a fictional conversation between Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna and Jony Ive.
“This is Apple’s new car, and it’s, to put it mildly, genius,” says Ive, after which someone off-camera reminds him that he now works for Ferrari. “The Italians asked me to design a car for them. I already worked on a car at my old job, so I just repurposed this piece of crap,” he adds.
Next, Vigna mentions the incredible price of $640,000, to which Ive remarks that buyers will only be able to purchase the Luce if they first buy “five Roman, two Purosangue, and maybe a watch.”
Reaction from former executives and politicians
The satire proved spot-on, as the real reaction isn’t much different. Luca di Montezemolo, who headed Ferrari from 1991 to 2014, told Italian newspapers that the Luce does not deserve to bear the prancing horse and warned of the risk of “destroying the legend.” He called the car “one that at least the Chinese won’t copy,” hinting at the Xiaomi YU7, which suspiciously resembles the Purosangue. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini also criticized the model on social media, noting that it “doesn’t look like a Ferrari at all” and wondered what Enzo would have thought.
Chris Harris’s opinion
In a short podcast, journalist Chris Harris, along with three co-hosts, also held back no criticism. According to him, the Luce looks like a Jaguar I-Pace that was rear-ended by a Ferrari F430. Despite this, he is confident that Ferrari will sell every produced unit of the Luce. Will this come true? Likely. But it’s doubtful that most buyers will be true Ferrari fans, and apparently, that was the intention.
Additional context
This situation demonstrates how risky it can be for brands with a rich history to deviate from established design traditions. Ferrari has always been associated with aggressive, sporty lines, while the Luce offers a completely different aesthetic, causing rejection among fans. At the same time, the company is likely betting on a new audience that values technology and innovation rather than just heritage. Whether this approach will pay off in the long run remains to be seen, but it is already clear that the Luce has become one of the most talked-about models of the year, albeit with a negative undertone.