Mog and Luce: why Ferrari's first electric car is being criticized
Internet users ridicule the Luce electric car, the first in the history of Ferrari. They come up with offensive comparisons for him, draw nameplates of other brands, share photos generated by artificial intelligence, claiming that the neural network works better than the professionals. At the same time, it is perhaps the most discussed novelty of the Italian manufacturer of supercars. Izvestia investigated whether this was a mistake or an attempt to create a HYPE.
From the creators of the Apple Watch
The design of Ferrari's first electric car was commissioned by LoveFrom Studio, led by Apple natives Jony Ive and Mark Newson. It is known that Ferrari Chairman John Elkann chose Ive's candidacy because of the Apple Watch, the design of which he called the most successful example of a digital reinvention of a traditionally analog product. However, nobody seemed to like the reinvention of Ferrari. The exterior was called strange, the interior, which, by the way, has more motifs of classic Ferraris than the exterior, soulless.
According to some, the car's profile looks suspiciously similar to the budget Nissan Leaf, which is also available in almost the same blue color. Others compare its appearance to a cheap remote-controlled children's car.
In addition, due to the battery under the floor, the car turned out to be tall, although the designers tried to visually hide this with a two-tone color and large wheels.
The Chinese won't copy
"Heavy artillery" has also joined the Internet users. Former Ferrari chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo criticized Luce.
"If I had said everything I thought, I would have hurt Ferrari. There is a risk of destroying an entire legend, and I am very sorry for that... > At least the Chinese will definitely not be able to copy this car," he said.
At the same time, Cordero di Montezemolo expressed the hope that the developers would "at least remove the prancing stallion" (the Ferrari logo) from the hood.
Even Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Matteo Salvini joined the chorus of indignation.
"It doesn't look like [Ferrari] at all. And how can this be called "innovation"? I wonder what Enzo Ferrari would say...," he wrote on social media.
Pope Leo XIV was among the few who did not publicly criticize the electric Ferrari. Despite the fact that I received a steering wheel from Luce as a gift, and not a whole car.
The surprise effect
Current CEO Benedetto Vigna has stated that true innovation is not democratic. The designers, in turn, complained that critics are fixated on nostalgia and do not accept change, whereas Luce is simply doomed to success. In the meantime, Ferrari shares have fallen by almost 8% amid the presentation of the new product.
The designers stated that they wanted to achieve the effect of surprise, and indeed, rarely has a new Ferrari been discussed so actively. However, the Jaguar electric car, which has not been launched into production, remains the leader in negative assessments.
To the cap analysis
It took Ferrari six years to create its first electric car. This period is explained by the fact that the company decided to do everything on its own, right down to the traction battery. Some of the equipment has been tested on other models of the brand. Electric motors were borrowed from the Ferrari F80 hybrid hypercar, and electronically controlled Multimatic shock absorbers with electric actuators were borrowed from the Purosangue crossover.
A clever system for voicing the operation of electric motors has been specially developed for Luce, which captures the vibrations of the power plant and amplifies them, like an electric guitar. A plant worth $230 million was built for the production of an electric car in 2024. While preparations were underway, interest in electric vehicles faded, and so far they have achieved significant success only in China.
Demand for the electric suite also failed to meet expectations, so famous brands began to review their production programs — Lamborghini refused to launch its Lanzador electric car, the first electric Bentley is likely to be the last. And although "electrification" helped the British Lotus brand set a historic sales record in 2024, the result in 2025 was disappointing. The electric Rolls-Royce Spectre has managed to reach the second most popular position among the British brand's models, but sales are falling.
However, in the context of strict European regulations on emissions of harmful substances, even small automakers must adapt to the "green agenda" in order to avoid penalties.
More expensive and slower
The first electric model of Ferrari was originally supposed to be called Elettrica, but it was renamed Luce — that is, the "Light" that should illuminate the company's future. However, according to the brand's strategy, by 2030 only 20% of models will be electric. Perhaps their share will decrease even further, given that the launch of the second electric Ferrari has been postponed at least until 2028 due to zero demand for such cars.
Company officials speak very carefully about Luce: they say it will not replace any model with an internal combustion engine, but will expand the brand's line under the slogan "Ferrari 360°". This is not only the first electric model of the Italian brand, but also the first five-seater with a record-breaking large trunk by Ferrari standards.
Four electric motors add up to 1,050 hp and 990 Nm, but the dynamics of the car by today's standards can hardly be called impressive — 2.5 seconds to "hundreds", 6.8 seconds to 200 km / h and 310 km / h top speed. The same can be said about the power reserve — the company expects that a full charge of the traction battery of impressive capacity (122 kWh) is enough for 530 kilometers.
Chinese automakers are coming on the heels of Ferrari. So, Xiaomi SU7 Ultra accelerates to "hundreds" in 1.97 seconds, to 200 km/ h in 5.96 and is capable of reaching 350 km/ h. At the same time, the Chinese sedan costs about $73 thousand, and the Ferrari Luce is about $600 thousand, which makes it more expensive than the 12cilindri coupe and the Purosangue crossover.
"The car is very scary"
In the history of Ferrari, there have been many controversial cars that were created in order to enter a new market segment and earn good money there, the author of the book "Ferrari. The story of the legendary manufacturer" Anton Shiryaev.
Ferrari Purosangue
— You can recall the Ferrari Mondial. A family that no one likes, which costs pennies, but it was in demand, brought money to the company and was an "entrance ticket" for a new clientele. The same goes for Purosangue, the crossover. Someone also criticized the Ferrari FF and GT4 Lusso. In short, this is not the first time that Ferrari has done this. Yes, the car is very scary for my taste. But this is a new market segment, it will attract new customers, it will attract zoomers, it will attract a Chinese audience. This is a really important step that will bring money to create other cars, other Ferraris. What's important to me is that Ferrari has shown that it will continue to create its own technology. Because all these great Chinese super sedans, they are usually based on a CATL battery, Huawei control electronics, and often only the electric motors are their own, and sometimes they are not their own. In other words, it's just a constructor of existing components and assemblies," Shiryaev said.
He suggested that the release of Luce would raise prices for Ferrari models with internal combustion engines, because their value would only increase and the queues would only get longer.
If they won't take it, we'll turn it off
At the same time, the company may force customers to purchase an electric car to gain access to other models.
— Indeed, Ferrari has not only quotas for the purchase of certain cars, but also a certain waiting list, a list of admission to the purchase of certain cars. As a rule, this applies to different limited versions, that is, in order to buy, for example, a Ferrari Enzo or a LaFerrari, you already had to have some V12 cars," said Anton Shiryaev.
Ferrari is primarily valued for its athletic qualities, Natalia Freidina, a Russian racing driver and participant in several stages of the Ferrari Challenge, told Izvestia.
— Enzo created an artificial shortage of cars. That is, no matter what, Ferraris are not produced in large batches. And if we take some limited series, especially cars with large 12-cylinder engines, this is generally exclusive. The plant is studying the future owner very carefully, because by purchasing such a car, you become like a member of the family," said Freydina.
Most likely, conservative buyers will turn away from this car and will not understand at all what to pay such money for, says Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of Za Rulem.
— Of course, someone will buy this car in the collection, so that there will be, and hypothetically, buyers from China can create mass demand, — he believes.
Waiting for a completely different car
Ferrari is traditionally perceived as an emotional car — loud, bright, with character and a powerful gasoline engine, says Nikolai Ivanov, Rolf's new car sales director.
— The buyer of such a brand usually expects a completely different character of the car — a more aggressive design, drive and the feeling of a "live" car. Here, we see, rather, a technological electric suite, which is not yet in high demand in Russia. In general, the interest in electric models of luxury brands in our country remains extremely niche. Even cars like the Rolls-Royce Spectre or the electric Lotus are sold in very small volumes. For the Russian market, the electric luxury is still more of an image story than a full—fledged mass segment," he said.
According to Nikolai Ivanov, there probably won't be a high demand for the Ferrari Luce either in Russia or globally. The combination of a high price, an electric platform and a rather unusual positioning for Ferrari makes the project very risky.
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