Ferrari Luce: Electric Sedan for 2027

Ferrari's recently announced Luce electric sedan (Wikipedia entry here) has generated a lot of controversy.  Criticism centers on the idea that its styling is bland, not at all Ferrari-like.  Some observers thought the car could ruin the brand's reputation.

This post is my initial take on the Luce (Italian for "light," though there are some other connotations).

I need to state that I've never been much of a Ferrari fan.  I respect the brand.  But like other exotic, expensive, high-performance brands, I can't seem to relate to it.  My favorite Ferrari models from a styling standpoint are almost entirely from the 1950s.

Perhaps that might make my analysis more objective than that from a Ferrari true believer.  Well, I hope so, though I too have biases.

One complaint regarding Luce styling is that the designers,  Jony Ive and Marc Newsome, are basically industrial designers lacking automobile design experience.  Newsome did design the odd, toy-like 1999 Ford 021C concept car, but that's all, aside from the Luce.  Ive is best known for his work at Apple.  This lack of experience does not guarantee failure, though designs by industry outsiders have tended to be unsatisfactory.

Luce styling follows the general electric vehicle (EV) theme characterized by simple forms lacking sculpting and decorative brightwork.  Nothing intrinsically wrong with that, given the styling fashion in recent decades for complicated details on wind tunnel formed basic shapes.

One complaint (that I share) is that Ferraris should not be EVs.  Ferrari, at its core, is V-12.

Another deviation from the Ferrari norm is that the Luce is a four-door, four-seat sedan.  That in itself potentially means that its design could not be Ferrari-like because Ferrari has been a sedan-free brand.  As it happened, Ferrari did start building four-door, four-seat cars in 2023.  The model is called the Purosangue (Italian for "pureblood").  Its Wikipedia entry is here.

Ferrari.com's Purosangue page stated (as of June, 2026):

"The Ferrari Purosangue is the first ever four-door, four-seater car in Ferrari’s history, but models with two rear seats have played a significant role in the company’s strategy since the very beginning.  Now, in the culmination of 75 years of leading-edge research, Ferrari has created a unique car and the encapsulation of the Prancing Horse’s DNA, where performance, driving pleasure and comfort coexist in perfect harmony.  And that’s why this new model was called Ferrari Purosangue – Italian for thoroughbred."

So a brief comparison with the Luce follows at the end of the Gallery below, where images are via Ferrari.

Gallery

EVs often seem odd because they lack the radiator-grille car-face mouth required by conventionally powered cars.  Here, the black areas above and below the front bumper strike band mimic conventional air intakes.  There's little inherently wrong with the design aside from not evoking Ferrari's image.  The basic fault is that the shape is too soft.  Were the sculpting enhanced even moderately, the design would be improved, its themes (such as they are) enhanced.

I'm guessing that the black thing abaft of the front wheel opening is an opening to exhaust hot air from the front wheel brake.  Rear styling is simple.  I notice no chrome trim whatsoever.

Simple, flowing shapes.  But even the red paint and yellow fender crest do not make this a convincing Ferrari.  Put some Auto Union linked rings at the front, and this could be a nice, sporty Audi EV.

As mentioned, sedans are traditionally foreign to Ferrari, which might be a subtle factor in the criticism leveled against the design -- basic proportions are not of the sports car or GT sort.  It's hard to see here, but the aft cutline of the rear side door drops vertically from a point slightly abaft of the leading edge of the C-pillar.

2023 Ferrari Purosangue
Here is Ferrari's other 4-door, 4-seat model.  Its wheelbase is only 2.2 inches (57 mm) longer than the Luce's, so side-view comparisons are fair.  I could easily be wrong, but the Luce appears to be based on a basic body structure similar to the Purosangue's.  Note the side window upper profile, the B-pillars.  Clearly major proportional differences, due to the V-12 motor up front on the Purosangue, creating an aggressive, Ferrari-like stance.  But the need to economize tooling costs might have led to the noted similarities.