We finally know what the Ferrari EV designed by Jony Ive looks like

After a long wait and in the rapidly changing electric vehicle climate, Ferrari Luce debuted as the company’s first EV. It’s the first Ferrari to use a radically new look and new technology – not just under the skin, but in places the driver would see.

The Luce’s exterior was developed with ex-Apple designer Jony Ive and Mark Newson’s LoveForm creative collective, and while there’s a clear attempt to connect with traditional Ferrari design, it’s a different kind of Ferrari. As a four-door, five-seater, it’s also unlike anything the company has done before, even since Purebred SUV whose looks try harder to match other Ferraris. There are some curves in the fenders reminiscent of what Ferrari has been doing since the turn of the century, but also smooth, almost Apple Magic Mouseseems to work in

And in a twist on Ferrari’s four-round taillight theme, Luce only appears when the car is turned on. Otherwise, there is only a black panel. Maybe it depends on the color, but it looks a bit odd in the Azzurro La Plata (blue-silver) that Ferrari uses in some photos.

Retractable door handles hide that this is a four-door car, with the rear doors hinged to the rear like those on the Purosangue. In fact, although the look is far different, the Luce has roughly the same footprint as this SUV, although it looks stockier thanks to the relatively short front end. You either like it or you don’t.

In February we took a look the interior of Lucealso done with LoveForm. This means there are more screens than typical Ferraris, with two OLED screens developed by Samsung, including the central touchscreen infotainment system that can be rotated closer to the driver. There’s a lot of aluminum and glass, and while there appear to be physical, traditional, if you will, Ferrari gauges behind the wheel, they’re digital.

However, Ferrari’s first EV hasn’t gone nearly as far into screens or touchscreen capacitive controls the way the Tesla, Lucid, and even Volvo and BMW have on their recently launched electric. The gear selector is glass and physical and has switches for various functions, plus four window switches and steering wheel drive selector switches, just like other recent products from the company.

Performance should be less contentious with four electric motors generating a total of 1,035 horsepower, with the two rear motors capable of up to 831 horsepower each, giving the Luce a traditional rear bias. The automaker claims a 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) time of 2.5 seconds and a top speed of 193 mph.

The Luce uses an 800-volt electrical architecture and a 122-kWh battery with the ability to charge up to 350 kW, which sounds like features from something like a Porsche Taycan or Kia EV9. The EPA hasn’t rated it for range, and it’s unclear whether US models will work on Tesla’s Supercharger network, but Car and Driver reports that Ferrari estimates a maximum range of 280 miles.

While the other supercar brand Lamborghini has abandoned its EV goals earlier this year amid an uncertain market for all-electric supercars (and the rather precarious financial situation of parent company Volkswagen Group), Ferrari persevered. Back in 2022, Ferrari said electric cars would make up 40% of its model line-up and later said there would be three models, according to Reuters.

However, the automaker said in 2025 that the second EV would be displaced by at least 2028, and Ferrari also delayed the Luce from a 2025 launch date, saying electric cars would make up 20 percent of the lineup, with 40 percent going to hybrids and gas models. The first Luces will be delivered this fall, though the first U.S. models aren’t expected until spring 2027.

The electric supercar market is a tiny fraction of even the small supercar market. Despite recent claims that the second generation of the Tesla Roadster is still happening after it was revealed as a prototype and deposits were taken in November 2017, this is quite clearly a delay for the company and its CEO. Tesla also recently killed its Model S and X cars and, therefore, the insane Plaid range.

Porsche is launching the 1,000-plus-horsepower Taycan Turbo GT from 2024, but that’s also a sedan, and that company has moved away from all-electric now that there’s expected to be gasoline versions of the previous EV-only 718 sports car and more like the Macan and Cayenne SUVs. Mercedes-Benz recently unveiled its new electric AMG GT 4 doors with up to 1,153bhp, but it’s a much bigger car than the intermediate Luce. This leaves the Ferrari Luce in a very small class.

And even more interestingly, if Ferrari hadn’t been spun off from the former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2016, it might have ended up part of the American-French-Italian giant Stellantis, which under new management made a big push towards add more gasoline and hybrid vehicles and ditch full EVs. In a way, it’s a miracle that the Luce is electric at all, regardless of what you think of it and what it represents to Ferrari.