The Ferrari Luce’s disastrous reveal has Lamborghini breathing a sigh of relief.
Ferrari’s first all-electric car has no reason to exist. The original complaint would be “why is Ferrari making an EV,” but the supercar maker had a chance to prove naysayers wrong with a cool, capable EV. The issue is they didn’t. The Luce is not just the ugliest Ferrari ever made, but ugly even when compared to basic electric commuters. And the performance is standard for a luxury EV, nothing exceptional. Nothing super. There is nothing “Ferrari” about this vehicle, with even the former chairman questioning if it should have the prancing horse logo.
Meanwhile, Lamborghini revealed its all-electric supercar, the Lanzador, a few years back. It was meant to come out soon, but CEO Stephan Winkelmann claimed Lamborghini’s clientele had no interest in EVs and put the model on pause. At the time, Winkelmann added that the interest was “close to zero,” citing a lack of connection with electric cars due to the missing V12 and all. The brand couldn’t find a way to connect wealthy supercar owners with a silent, soulless EV, so it gave up.
Will the Lamborghini Lanzador have better luck?
After the backlash Ferrari received for the ugly Luce, Winkelmann told CNBC that delaying the undesired Lamzador was “the right way to go.”
He explained: “By observing the market, we saw that the acceptance curve [of EVs] for our type of customers is not increasing, and that therefore we decided to move away from a full-electric car into a plug-in hybrid.”
When asked about the Luce, Winkelmann remained a bit more reserved. He simply stated that “every brand has to decide for themselves” when it comes to launching an EV.
An early look at the Lanzador tells me it wouldn’t be as much of a stinker as the Luce. It carries over some of Lamborghini’s style and aesthetic, with an aggressive front end and numerous harsh angles throughout the body. However, it still looks a little goofy and would have to figure out a way to not be silent and depressing while driving it. That’s the biggest issue. The Luce sounds like a typical EV, using generic, synth-like sounds to keep the car from being completely silent.
That fakeness just doesn’t cut it for the supercar crowd. I’m not really sure what Lamborghini has in mind to make the Lanzador sound engaging and exciting, given that it has no engine. I don’t think it will do well. The only electric cars from these brands that do well are extreme hypercars. But these more “common” supercars, meant to be seen on the road and at local car shows… Nobody wants to drive an electric version of them. I don’t think the world is ready for it.
Especially one as ugly as the Luce.
If Lamborghini is smart, it will “delay” the Lanzador for eternity.
