I Like Ferrari's Luce EV. But This Is Why It's Heartbreaking

The Luce EV was presented as Ferrari’s first electric vehicle, with Pope Leo XIV participating in a driver-seat endorsement. Test driver Raffaele De Simone explained controls and driving modes for a 1,000-horsepower car targeting 62 mph in 2.5 seconds. Observers questioned how the vehicle could feature one of the largest production EV batteries yet reach only 329 miles, and how an accelerometer on the rear axle produced in-cabin sound described as an “instrument.” The $640,000 design by LoveFrom, founded by Jony Ive, coincided with a sharp drop in Ferrari’s share price in Milan and New York, wiping billions off its value. Luca di Montezemolo criticized the risk to Ferrari’s legacy and mocked the likelihood of copying.

"Guided by Ferrari chairman John Elkann and senior Ferrari executives, in a hillside town about 15 miles southeast of Rome, the pontiff sat in the driver's seat and listened patiently as test driver Raffaele De Simone explained the vehicle's controls and driving modes as if he really was speaking to a man clearly in the market for a 1,000-horsepower electric car capable of hitting 62 mph in 2.5 seconds."

"Meanwhile, as Pope Leo was no doubt pondering how the Luce could boast one of the largest batteries in any production EV yet still only manage a maximum 329 miles, or how an accelerometer on the rear axle somehow worked like a guitar pickup to create in-cabin sound like an "instrument," the market was speaking. On seeing the $640,000 car design, not by Ferrari, but LoveFrom, the agency founded by Jony Ive in 2019 upon his exit from Apple, the carmaker's share price dropped 8 percent in morning trading in Milan, while New York-listed shares fell by 5.1 percent, wiping billions off Ferrari's value."

""We risk the destruction of a legend," he said. "I just hope someone removes the prancing horse from that car. This is certainly a machine that the Chinese won't copy-they won't need to.""

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