Ferrari unveiled its first fully electric car, the Luce, at a gala event in Rome on May 25. The Luce is a four-door, five-seat luxury electric vehicle designed with designers Jony Ive and Marc Newson from LoveFrom [1, 2, 3, 4].
The car features a 122 kWh battery with a range exceeding 530 km (329 miles) and can reach top speeds over 310 km/h (192 mph). It accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in about 2.5 seconds and weighs approximately 2,260 kg, making it Ferrari’s heaviest model to date [1, 5, 6, 7].
This marks Ferrari’s second four-door car after the Purosangue SUV and its first model with five seats [1, 3, 8]. The design, described as minimalist with a glass-encased cabin, has divided opinion. It drew notable criticism online and from car enthusiasts, former executives, and political figures [5, 2, 4, 9]. Former Ferrari CEO Luca Cordero di Montezemolo publicly said, "There is a risk of destroying a legend... I hope they take the prancing horse off that car, at least" [4]. Italian Deputy PM Matteo Salvini expressed skepticism, pondering what founder Enzo Ferrari would think of it [2, 10].
Ferrari President John Elkann said, "We are inaugurating a chapter that turns our vision into reality, strengthening Ferrari’s tradition of anticipating and shaping the future" [1]. CEO Benedetto Vigna added, "Ferrari Luce was born precisely from this challenge, offering our unprecedented vision of electrification" [5]. Designer Marc Newson acknowledged the backlash as part of innovation: "People are very nostalgic now... which makes their jobs as designers very difficult" [11].
The Luce incorporates an innovative sound system that converts vibrations from the rear motors into cabin audio [8, 7]. It is priced starting around $640,000 (€550,000) [5, 3, 8].
Ferrari shares declined between 6% and 8.4% on the Milan stock exchange on May 26, losing roughly €3.7 billion in market value in the days following the Luce announcement [5, 6, 3, 4]. Analysts view the Luce more as a "statement product" showcasing Ferrari’s electric ambitions rather than a high-volume model [2, 10, 12].
Ferrari has scaled back its 2030 electrification target, now aiming for 20% fully electric vehicles, 40% hybrids, and 40% internal combustion, reversing its previous goal of 40% electric by 2030 [1, 5]. The company sees strong future demand in markets like China and plans to start first deliveries by the end of 2026 [6, 3].
The Luce was also presented on May 26 to Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Pope Leo, who reportedly showed interest in the vehicle [2, 10, 3, 4]. Deliveries of the Luce are scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026 [6, 3].
