28/05/2026
Before discussing the merits and demerits of the Ferrari Luce’s design, one must consider the kind of story it is tasked with telling.
No, this was never supposed to be the next chapter in the history of the world’s proudest, most storied maker of unashamedly irrational motor cars.
The story the Luce is supposed to tell isn’t meant to result in Rosso Corsa-blooded enthusiasts trading in their V12 GTs. Its story is aiming at an altogether different audience, for a purpose other than furthering the sports car. The Luce was created, first and foremost, with the stock market in mind.
For there, Ferrari has been valued like a luxury brand for years—rather than just another maker of cars. So imagine if Ferrari was to prove it’s not just any old luxury business either, but the most luxurious among tech businesses.
Telling these kinds of stories is how the truly gargantuan bucks are made these days.
Enter titans of design, Marc Newson and Jony Ive, who are also doing business with the likes of OpenAI—if anyone could redefine automotive design for the electric age, it’s the genius behind Apple’s most celebrated devices and the Australian who once came up with the world’s most expensive aluminium chair. Right?
Either out of naïveté, ignorance or arrogance, these two revered product designers elected to ignore many of the lessons learned over the course of more than a century of automotive design history. To say nothing of Ferrari’s and Pininfarina’s legacy—beyond a handful of logos, air vent shapes and gauge graphics.
Ferrari has every right to try and reinvent itself as a luxury tech brand. It also has every right to have a car designed in ways that openly eschew the craft of car design.
Then again, absolutely nobody is using a classic 2007 iPhone today. Applying the tech approach to car design is, it would appear, a risky business.
Especially since this luxury-tech empire’s foundation rests upon legacy, romance and passion. None of which the Luce embodies.
