The Ferrari Luce Is The Most Groundbreaking Ferrari Of The 21st Century

Earlier this week, Ferrari revealed arguably one its most controversial cars ever - the all-electric Luce saloon. 

We’ve known that Ferrari have been developing an electric car for quite some time now, but none of us were expecting it to look like how it does. 

Now the car has been revealed, it’s certainly caused a stir, mostly on how it looks. People really are overlooking what makes this car special. Anyway, let’s take a look at the Luce in a bit more detail. 

How fast is it?

Putting the design aside for a minute, let’s talk specs. The Luce is powered by four electric motors, with one in each wheel with a power output of 1,035bhp, which makes it one of the most powerful Ferrari’s ever made, only being pipped by the F80 hypercar. 0-62mph is done in 2.5 seconds, and will reach a top speed of 192mph. 

The 122kWh battery pack utilises an 800-volt architecture and offers a range of around 330 miles on a full charge. Weight is what you should expect from any big EV, tipping the scales at 2,260kg. That might sound like a lot, but keep in mind the petrol-powered Purosangue weighs about 2,170kg.

Is it practical?

Unlike what some people thought, the Luce is a five-seat, five-door hatchback, with room for their luggage in the generously sized boot. The Luce looks like it’ll be a spacious thing too, with barn door style passenger doors, which makes it ever so easy to get in and out of, you know, and what seems to be ample space in the front and back for those five people. 

This makes it more practical than the Purosangue, and more appealing to a larger audience than, say, an EV powertrain plonked into an SF90. 

The boot in the Luce is huge by Ferrari standards, measuring in at 597 litres. This eclipses the boots found in both the Purosangue and the older GTC4Lusso. That puts the boot on par with the likes of the Skoda Octavia hatchback and Volkswagen ID.7 Tourer. That’s one of the benefits of having the motors in the wheels and the car having a flat floor.

But what about the design?

Yes, alright. I’ve been putting this off until now. 

The Ferrari Luce is indeed a challenging car to look at, but we truly believe this design will grow on you and age much better than comparable cars. 

The Luce was designed by Marc Newson, off of Ford 021C fame, and Sir Jony Ive, who was responsible for design icons including the iPod and iPhone. Together, they created their company called LoveFrom, who Ferrari called in to design the Luce. 

Like it or not, the Luce is a game-changer for Ferrari, much like how the iPod was for the MP3 player market. 

Outside, aerodynamics is a huge reason why the Luce looks the way that it does. Up front, you’ll notice a large black area running from the front bumper, through the front end and up the bonnet. Elsewhere, there hole in the front doors, to help with airflow and around back, there are more airflow holes, to help with the aero and to allow the Luce to cut through the air better.

There are optional turbine wheels to further help airflow. However, more conventional five-spoke alloys are available. No matter what wheel design you go for, they’re huge, measuring 23 inches at the front and 24 inches at the back.

Inside, the Luce has one of the most interesting interiors seen on a new car in decades. 

The dashboard has a central display like all new cars, but it’s small and serves its purpose well. Under the screen, there are physical controls for the climate control too. The central display also features the same kind of glass found in all recent Apple products, which is supplied by Corning, and is something to show off to your mates. 

In front of the driver’s seat, there’s an all-new steering wheel, which is refreshingly thin, isn’t complicated and is made of leather and aluminium. It’s a lovely piece of design. Behind the wheel are the OLED driver displays, which are split into three pods, with the speedometer featuring a physical needle. 

How far can I go with customisation?

Ferrari will happily let you customise the Luce to your hearts content, with a generous range of paint colours, leathers, carbon and aluminium options. 

You can spec a panoramic sunroof, heated steering wheel, front and rear massage seats, a smoker kit and of course, a handy fire extinguisher. 

So if you want a bright blue Luce with a yellow interior, you can absolutely do that. 

But what do you think? 

I think I’m in a small minority of people who actually like the look of the Luce. It’s totally different to what Ferrari has been doing, and also doesn’t follow any trends of the current car market, aside from it being electric. 

The interior design is genuinely refreshing and lacks the actual bullshit found in most modern new cars. It’s not covered in acres of screen; it actually has physical buttons and doesn’t compromise being based on an existing car. 

I really enjoy the aero-focused exterior, the turbine wheels, the split coloured roof, and simply the fact that it isn’t another SUV. 

Now, I haven’t seen the car in person, and it’ll be a long while until I do, but I’m glad this exists. Hopefully, it makes other manufacturers look at their current design and line-up and re-evaluate what people actually need and want from their car.