I certainly didn't have a zero-emissions Ferrari sedan on my 2026 Bingo card, but that's what we're getting with the Luce.
Its name is inspired by the brand's focus on the future; it means light, the sort that shows you the way forward. Given the company's done about nine hybrids thus far, this certainly sounds like the logical next step.
Combining practicality with track-day performance in a way that the brand has never done before, the Luce is the first Ferrari to feature five seats. It also gets four F80-derived electric motors designed and built in-house in Maranello, making for a monstrous 1,035 hp and 730 lb.ft (990 Nm) of torque to keep up with today's unnecessarily fast hypercars.
Appearance-wise, there's a lot to take in here. The car has been designed by LoveFrom, a collective founded by the legendary Sir Jony Ive (who fashioned the iMac, iPod, and iPhone at Apple) and Marc Newson, both of whom are avid Ferrari collectors. The team collaborated deeply with Ferrari over the last five years to bring this to life.
While the company insists this is an electric Ferrari that shouldn't simply be mistaken for any old EV, it does look rather tame compared to just about every other car from its stable. Indeed, it feels more like an industrial design product than the result of automotive designers pushing the boundaries as they adopt a wholly different technology.
Up front, you've got slim daytime running lights above the headlights, and a sloping hood graced with a large front splitter. This makes for a sizeable air gap that allows air to flow over the seamless canopy for downforce at high speeds. Tall windshield wipers rest on either side of the glass house rather than resting in a well in front of the windshield to help maintain an aerodynamic profile.
Instead of a prominent grille, you'll find a series of vertical louvers that can open for airflow to enable cooling or close to reduce drag as needed.
Let's come around to the side. Large 23-inch and 24-inch wheels on the front and rear respectively give the Luce a bold profile, while the wheel arches allow air to flow through from the front to the back. Both doors open at the B-pillar with discreet door handles, revealing remarkably spacious interiors that should comfortably seat three in the rear.
On to the rear end, where you'll find round taillights in groups of two that echo the F40 from the late 1980s. Large ventilation spaces surrounding them make the tail section appear inset into the vehicle's structure. The sweeping glass house, meanwhile, dominates the mid-section, and features an optional panoramic roof.
Refreshingly, LoveFrom has gone with a whole lot of analog touches across the interior to engage the driver. There are tactile controls for everything from switching driving and traction modes, to adjusting the temperature. This cabin design is arguably what really sets the Luce apart from anything else you can buy right now.
Everything you touch in here is essentially metal, glass, and leather or Alcantara depending on your configuration. Each element, including knobs on the steering wheel, the launch control toggle, and the grab handles are all shaped and finished in such a way that you'll enjoy interacting with them every time. There's even a bit of drama in the way the key fob lowers into a slot on the central console to fire up the car.
I love how the cockpit gets circular dials that appear to be analog, but are actually digital displays that can subtly change what they show you depending on your driving mode and preferences. The center-mounted infotainment center can be swiveled around to face the driver or passenger, and it has a clock inset at the top right corner that can switch between functions like telling the time, a stopwatch, and more.
That central screen can of course do Apple CarPlay, but what's neat about it is that it's got physical switches for adjusting temperature, seat heating and cooling, and other functions – and they're beautifully integrated into the system for quick and intuitive interactions.
The team drew inspiration from an F1 steering wheel for the three-spoke example in here. It's a lot simpler than the tech-heavy steering wheels we've seen in many other performance cars, with a view to reduce distracting you from the road ahead while still keeping the bare essentials – drive and traction modes – within easy reach.
The electric all-wheel-drive powertrain, paired with a 122-kWh battery that can do 800 V, can take you from 0-60 mph (0-100 km/h) in just 2.5 seconds. Not bad for a 5,070-lb (2,300-kg) sedan, which Ferrari says feels 1,000 lb (450 kg) lighter on its feet thanks to the control systems that adjust the four wheels independently 500 times a second. They're tuned to provide assistance without interrupting your flow. Conservative driving, meanwhile, can get you up to 329 miles (529 km) on a single charge.
You can also look forward to a 21-speaker audio system with 3,000 watts output, an active suspension system, and a bunch of styling options to customize the interiors.
The design is certainly polarizing, and the idea of a practical Ferrari may sound blasphemous to some – but the Luce has been deliberately and meticulously crafted, and it'll surely be fun to throw around a track or city streets for those who like what they see. Ferrari hasn't yet said when the Luce will begin to ship, but you can expect to pay about US$640,000 starting price for it.
Fiddle with the Luce configurator on Ferrari's site to get a closer look. And if you've got 45 minutes to spare, stream this deep dive into LoveFrom's approach to designing the car in an interview with Cleo Abram on YouTube.
Source: Ferrari
