The Ferrari Luce was met with a collective groan — or agonizing scream — from car enthusiasts and the country of Italy. But not all hope is lost.
When the Luce was revealed last week, almost everyone on the planet wondered what Ferrari was thinking. It looked like an uglier Nissan Leaf and was slower than a Tesla Model S Plaid despite costing $640,000. It was accused of destroying Ferrari and of not deserving the prancing horse logo, since it lacked the design elements expected of the brand.
Luckily, the Ferrari Luce isn’t the future of the brand.
The future of Ferrari isn’t doomed after all
In an interview with Drive, CEO Benedetto Vigna discussed Ferrari’s future after the Luce’s disastrous reveal. Going forward, don’t expect Ferrari to completely pivot to EVs.
“We have internal combustion, we have the hybrid, and we have the electric,” he said. “Full stop. Then the client can pick up whatever they want.”
This is a relief to hear. Despite the horrified backlash to the Luce, Ferrari claimed there was a ton of interest. From who? I have no idea. But it’s not insane to believe that a supercar, even a fugly one, would get pre-orders. However, it’s not like people are going to be buying it for years to come. Or even months.
I think Ferrari knows this. So they’re not going to leave us with just the Luce. They know that’s not viable.
Is Ferrari aware nobody likes the Luce?
While Vigna seemed level-headed about the future of Ferrari, keeping ICE cars and all, he seemed a bit delulu about the Luce.
He claimed that the Luce was created after Ferrari was told by multiple would-be customers that they’d only buy a car if the brand offered an electric option. Vigna wanted to be on top of this, bringing an EV to these potential clients before more people demanded one.
But just because some people — allegedly — wanted an electric Ferrari, I doubt they were envisioning a lifeless, overly round dork of a car. The Luce has over 1,000 horsepower and has impressive-ish acceleration, but Ferrari buyers want something that will impress even while parked. They want presence. They want prestige. They don’t want an ugly, cheap-looking pill-shaped thing that looks goofier than a toy car.
“I think that it does not matter which technology you use, as long as you deliver something that the people are in love with,” Vigna said.
Does… Does he think people love the Luce? Why is Ferrari continuing to pretend everyone is buying and obsessing over the Luce? Just admit you messed up. There’s a reason you had to promise more ICE vehicles are coming. C’mon.
