Ferrari Luce: Controversial Electric Design and Experiments with Other Brands
The debut of Ferrari’s first electric vehicle, the Luce model, turned out to be far more controversial than expected. The biggest topic of discussion wasn’t the electric motor, but the car’s exterior appearance. The Luce doesn’t resemble any previous Ferrari at all, which prompted us to wonder: what would it look like with another brand’s badge?
It is known that the Luce’s design was developed by the LoveFrom studio, led by former Apple designer Jony Ive. This explains the huge difference between this model and everything previously created by the Ferrari Centro Stile team under Flavio Manzoni.
This sudden break with tradition was entirely intentional. Ferrari does not plan to become a brand that only produces electric vehicles, so the first model was given the privilege of forging its own path.
Jeep Luce: Unexpected Resemblance
Initially, the front of the Luce recalled the 2008 Pininfarina Sintesi concept, which would have suited a four-door Ferrari well. However, a second look revealed a striking similarity to the headlights of the Jeep Avenger. This is what inspired us to create the Jeep Luce render. To do this, it was enough to add an illuminated grille with seven slots and paint the body in the bright Hawaii color from the new Compass.
Dodge Luce: Muscle Power
The next brand that came to mind was Dodge. The transparent front grille of the Ferrari is conceptually similar to the front of the electric Charger Daytona. The Luce’s short nose isn’t quite typical for a muscle car, but it surprisingly pairs well with the full-width LED lighting and illuminated Charger logo. The deep Redeye color from Dodge’s palette also harmonizes perfectly with the glossy black panels of the electric Ferrari.
Honda Luce Type R: The Japanese Approach
Next up was a Japanese brand known for its clean concept car lines. Honda recently canceled a number of high-profile EV projects, but it was hard to resist the temptation to imagine the Luce with an “H” badge on its nose. Since this is a performance model, we decided to give it the Type R treatment: a sharper carbon aero kit and red bucket seats. Irony of fate: the Ferrari Luce looks less exotic than the canceled Honda 0 Sedan.
Xiaomi Luce: The Chinese Touch
The last stop on our journey was the Far East. It’s quite likely that one of the many Chinese automakers will copy the styling cues of the electric Ferrari and launch something similar into production before the first units roll off the assembly line in Maranello. Given the connection to Apple and the fact that the Luce looks more like a tech product than a supercar, the choice fell on Xiaomi. The yellow color Lighting Yellow and silver stripes from the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra completed the Mi badges.
Apple iCar: Bonus Render
To wrap up, we added a bonus render that many readers requested: turning the Luce into the Apple iCar that never made it to market. The “Titan” project was officially canceled in February 2024, having spent billions developing an autonomous, groundbreaking electric vehicle. By entrusting the Luce’s design to the LoveFrom studio, Ferrari may have given former Apple chief designer Jony Ive a platform to embody the spirit of that ambitious project. For our imaginary version, the changes were minimal: the Apple logo on the nose and side “gills”, Disc-style wheels, and Cosmic Orange color borrowed from the latest iPhone.
Illustrations: Thanos Pappas for CarScoops
Interestingly, the experiments with changing the badges on the Ferrari Luce show just how versatile, yet controversial, its design turned out. It equally “fits” the images of American muscle cars, Japanese hot hatches, or Chinese tech giants. This indicates that Ferrari consciously took a risk, abandoning its traditional design language, and created a car that could either become a new benchmark or remain in history as a bold but ambiguous experiment. The collaboration with Jony Ive added features to the Luce that are more typical of premium gadgets than supercars, opening a new chapter in the history of the Italian brand.