Ferrari has revealed its Luce in full, the company's first electric car and a dramatic departure from the Prancing Horse norm.
It looks… kinda odd…
Yup, it's definitely a break from Ferrari tradition. It's a five-door fastback, only the second-ever Ferrari to officially have that body style (the first was the Purosangue 'SUV', although there were a handful of Ferrari estates made for the Sultan of Brunei) with both its bodywork and interior laid out by legendary designers Marc Newsom and Jony Ive - Ive is best known for his ground-breaking work with Apple, from the iMac to the iPad.
Why is it so blocky?
Good question. This really is a Ferrari as we have never seen it before, and the ultra-simple (well, simple at first glance - this kind of style isn't as easy to make as it looks) initially appears so bland that it could have come from Xpeng or Chery. It's only when you see the badges and the F40-esque rear lights that you start to think 'Ferrari.'
According to Benedetto Vigna, CEO of Ferrari: "We are convinced that a company demonstrates its leadership when it has the courage to dare and to take on the challenge of new technologies. Ferrari Luce was born precisely from this challenge, offering our unprecedented vision of electrification. Never before have we offered our clients such freedom of choice. In line with our belief in technological neutrality, we are the first in the world to combine fully electric, hybrid, and combustion-engine architectures for sports cars. We have not limited ourselves to innovation in powertrains; with Luce, we have launched a whole new segment in our range. This model is the result of more than 60 of our new patents and lies at the heart of an ecosystem of collaborations with outstanding technology partners. We have created a car that combines unique driving emotions with extraordinary performance, driving pleasure, and comfort for the Ferraristi of today and tomorrow.”
Please tell me it's fast…
Oh yes, Ferrari has really gone to town on the specification. The Luce (yes, it is the same name as a 1960s Mazda Coupe…) has four electric motors, one for each wheel. Those give the Luce a combined 1,050hp and a complicated relationship with torque. According to Ferrari, the nominal torque figure at the electric motors is 990Nm, but thanks to each individual motor having its own reduction gear, there's a claimed 11,000Nm actually reaching the road (for a mere fraction of a second, we assume). Those electric motors, radial-flow units, are said to be closely related to those used by the F80 hybrid road car and the three-time Le Mans-winning 499P.
That gives the Luce - altogether, now… - electric performance. Ferrari claimed 0-100km/h in just 2.5 seconds, 0-200km/h in 6.8 seconds, and a top speed of 310km/h.
All of that power and acceleration is fed by a 122kWh battery pack, which has its own high-tech cooling system to keep delivering power time after time, and which supports 800-volt charging, allowing it to draw 350kW to regain 70kWh of energy in 20 minutes.
The battery cells are stacked in a roughly T-shaped formation, allowing for a lower body line and ride height.
Range? Ferrari claims 530km.
What about the interior?
We had seen elements of the Ferrari Luce's cabin previously, and Ive and Newsom have used an interesting blend of old and new. Indeed, we'd say that the cabin is a far more successful job of work than the exterior. The dash and instruments (which combine layered digital displays with real needles) are reminiscent of classic 1980s Ferraris, while the iPad-like touchscreen is mounted on a swivel so it can be used by either the driver or the passenger. Interestingly, Ive - famed for his touchscreen creations for Apple - reckons that such screens are a bad idea for cars, on the whole, so the Luce gets quite a few physical toggle switches too. There's a neat trick with the key - slot it into place and the yellow background of the Ferrari badge seems to drain from the key and 'fill up' the little toggle-like gear selector; a neat bit of start-up theatre.
Will it be good to drive?
Probably? This is a very heavy car at 2,260kg, but other Ferraris, such as the GTC4 Lusso and the Purosangue, are hardly featherweights. The Luce will use fully active suspension dampers, designed by Canadian racing-team supplier Multimatic, and be driven by a powerful 48-volt electrical system. Those, combined with the fact that the electric motors can provide power to each wheel with micrometre precision, could make for a very interesting driving experience. Steering response is said to be 15 per cent faster than that of a Purosangue. There is a driving sound piped into the cabin, but Ferrari says that instead of fake V12 noises, it's actually the real noises from the electric motors, just amplified, which should sound a bit like the screaming jet turbine of a fighter aircraft.
There are, theoretically, no fake gear changes, but you do get classic Ferrari paddles behind the wheel to control the regen braking. However, Ferrari has tuned the way the electric motors deliver power in concert with the altering of the regen settings, so there is a kind of gear-change effect. Sort of.
Is the Luce practical?
Absolutely. Four doors, four seats (the back doors are rear-hinged), and a 597 litre boot. Most practical Ferrari ever (if we don't count the Lancia Thema 8.32…).
When can I have one?
Deliveries start next spring, and prices will be in the ballpark of €800,000 once Revenue take their cut.