Ferrari confirms EV name, shows off interior
'Luce' has been designed with help from Sir Jony Ive - can you tell?
Whenever Ferrari decided it was going to embark on an electric car, it was always going to be a momentous occasion. Nobody else’s founder is legendary for suggesting that you bought the engine from him and the car came for free, after all. But right now, with demand for luxury EVs dwindling (from a pretty low start point), regulators reneging on pledges and those manufacturers backing combustion appearing the healthiest, it looks like especially courageous timing from Ferrari. The EV isn’t suddenly going to replace other models, or become a majority seller, though it still feels like a huge step. Because convincing a millionaire to buy a Ferrari without an engine feels like convincing them to buy a penthouse without a view. So let's see - they persuaded people to buy Californias, after all…
Today marks a big step towards finally seeing the electric Ferrari in all its glory, with a name confirmed and interior unveiled. The EV will be called ‘Luce’, as in the Italian for ‘light’ or ‘illumination', the same as employed by Mazda for its Luce executive saloon - aka the Mazda 929 - many decades ago. It’s suggested that this Luce ‘testifies to Ferrari’s determination to go beyond expectations: to imagine the future, and to dare.’ To lead the way you need to light the way, see, hence Luc… you get it. Perhaps more interesting is the fact that Ferrari suggests this new car marks the start of a new naming strategy, without fully sharing what that strategy is. Maybe it’s because ‘Luce’ is said to be not just a name, not merely a vision even, but in fact a philosophy: ‘a new era where design, engineering and imagination converge into something that did not exist before.’ How on earth that can then be applied to subsequent Ferrari models isn’t clear for the moment, but let’s deal with that another time.
For the first time ever, Ferrari has collaborated with LoveFrom for every element of the Luce’s design. For those that don’t know (we didn’t), LoveFrom is a San Francisco-based ‘creative collective’ created by Sir Jony Ive and his friend Marc Newson. And if you didn’t know who they were, Ive was at Apple for a very long time, eventually assuming the position of Chief Design Officer. So there’s a strong likelihood that the device you’re reading this story on (it’s best on the app!) was an Ive creation. Steve Jobs said of Ive: “The difference that Jony has made not only at Apple but in the world is huge.” Newson is an Australian industrial designer, recruited by Ive to Apple in 2014 before forming LoveFrom together in 2019.
So that’s the context. The challenge for the Luce, surely, is to combine the minimalist style and touchscreen user friendliness that have made Apple devices (and similar) de rigueur with the tactility, sensory appeal and functionality required by a hugely expensive Ferrari. This is our first glimpse at what the design teams of Ferrari and LoveFrom expect that compromise to look like.
It’s hard not to stare at the steering wheel first. While there are familiar elements like a manettino, wiper settings and wonderfully oversized paddle, it’s a much more retro design than we’ve become accustomed to from Ferrari in recent times. You half expect it to have Moto-Lita etched on the spokes somewhere, and the move is a very deliberate one: ‘The design team chose a simplified three-spoke form, reinterpreting the iconic '50s and '60s wooden three-spoke wheel.’ For a wheel that must contain an airbag, house those controls and is made from 100 per cent recycled aluminium, it looks pretty cool. Plus, if you don’t like the layout, blame the Fiorano collective: ‘Every button has been developed to provide the most harmonious combination of mechanical and acoustic feedback based on more than 20 evaluation tests with Ferrari test drivers.’ Which includes buttons in the roof, too.
The retro theme of the Luce’s interior continues with the driver’s display; the design of the instruments is inspired by aviation, watches, and aims to evoke the ‘the clarity and elegance of historic instrument dials’ like Jaeger and Veglia, as would have been seen in various 250s and 330s all those years ago. In much more modern parlance, it’s also suggested that the look reduces cognitive load for the driver, and certainly there’s something to be said for dials that look like they belong in a car (and not on a phone screen). We’ll not pass complete judgment yet without seeing it in person (and heaven knows we shouldn’t be trusted on any design matter), but one person’s ‘modern, clean layout that highlights the legibility of the dials’ is another’s rudimentary display. It’s a tough tightrope to walk, for sure. And a Ferrari without a revcounter will definitely take some getting used to.
Moving across from the steering column, which that retro binnacle forms a part of in a Ferrari for the first time, there’s the Luce’s infotainment display. Which, in another first, is mounted on a ball-and-socket joint, so it can face the passenger if the driver doesn’t want to see it. One way to sort out infotainment irks. Those who are worried about prodding at a central screen will be pleased to know that it comes with a palm rest, allowing operation ‘effortlessly and intuitively without looking’. It still seems potentially a tad fiddly, as these things so often do, but there are the smart toggle switches to help. And, if all else fails, swing it to the passenger and have them sort the air-con.
Below that screen sits the central tunnel of controls (windows, hazards, that sort of thing), plus storage for the key and gear selector. Which is where Ferrari has gone full Ferrari for the Luce. See this is no ordinary gear selector; this isn’t even an M&S gear selector. It’s a ‘technical work of art in Corning Fusion5 Glass’, never before seen in a car interior and manufactured using lasers to make tiny holes in the glass ‘half the width of a human hair to deposit the ink for the graphics with the perfect level of uniformity.’ Scratch resistance, as you might expect, is better than usual glass, too, so it should continue to look like a work of art (or whatever you deem it to be) for a long while yet. The key is also made from the special glass, and the Luce start-up procedure begins when it’s lodged in its dock: ‘the key’s colour switches from yellow to black as it integrates with the glass surface of the central console. The control panel and binnacle simultaneously light up, heightening anticipation and signalling the transition from stillness to motion.’ Pseuds Corner is going to have a field day with the full press release.
That’s coming soon, too. With the electrical gubbins detailed last year and now an interior deep dive complete, all that’s really left is to shine a light (pun intended; sorry) on the Luce’s exterior. The third and final phase of the launch programme will be in May, ahead of production kicking off at the Maranello e-building. If still quite hard to believe, the electric Ferrari is going to be on public roads in a matter of months. And if the same sort of effort has been invested in the driving experience as the interior - its design ‘driven by extraordinary care and purposefully shaped by some of the most influential minds in technology design’ - then perhaps there’ll be another extremely special Ferrari in our midst. It wouldn’t be the first time that it has confounded expectations. Suffice it to say this is far from the last you’ll hear of the Luce…
Just as I thought the ride was finally turning on screens they’ve gone all in. That key feels like a pocket annoyance too looking at it.
If the interior is cleaner and more classic, maybe the exterior will end up being more retro: Pinin concept / 250 GT/E rather than purosangue / new testarossa design language
For now, I cant see what they're going for......In saying that I through the same about the idea of a purosangue and that ended up looking flipping amazing. I have faith in the ferrari design team.
Have PH been told not to use them in case Ferrari gets a low rating and PH get banished from the Ferrari marketing team cult meetings?
I like some of the individual items but not the whole dash as mocked up.
Just as I thought the ride was finally turning on screens they ve gone all in. That key feels like a pocket annoyance too looking at it.
This has LOTS of physical switchgear, and where there are digital elements they have analogue crossover like physical needles on the gauges. I think this is a very well thought out interior with a really clear focus on the driver and physical buttons for all the functions you need instant access to.
EVs are great in the right context, this isn't it in my view. Let's see if Ferrari knows their customers better than I do!
Or has a 5 year old been let loose with the crayons..
Just probably the best, most accomplished and successful designers of recent times.
For sure, you don't have to like it, but maybe do some research before you unleash into complete nonsense mode.
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