Jony Ive’s Ferrari looks like a Ferrari

Ferrari makes some of the fastest cars in the world, so it’s anyone’s guess how the Italian automaker arrived so late to the EV party. In the long run, many automakers are very interested they scaled back their EV targets, battery failureor reduced factory plansFerrari coming out of the shadows is a real surprise: All-electric Luce.

Ferrari unveiled the Luce on Monday at Vela di Calatrava, a sports complex outside Rome. In many ways it’s the most anticipated and most hyped EV to come out since battery-powered models first hit the scene. An electric Ferrari! This is very difficult!

But Luce doesn’t look like a Ferrari. In fact, it looks like Apple might make it. Which makes sense because Luce was created with the help of LoveFroma design company led by Apple’s famous designer Jony Ive and his partner Marc Newson.

This is as close as we’ll get to an Apple car.

Remember when Apple built its self-driving car? But instead the project sat in development hell for years until Tim Cook finally pulled the plug? Apple may have decided that making its own car wasn’t the right idea, but the former Apple designer seems to have never given up on the idea. By creating the LoveFrom design, Ferrari actually, and perhaps unwittingly resurrected the dream of an Apple car. Luce could easily have walked out of the design halls of Cupertino.

The exterior is smooth and round like an Apple product designed by Ive. The Autopian he said it was the same and Magic Mouseand to tell the truth, where is the lie? (Fortunately, the steering wheel port is not found under the Ferrari.) Ferrari fans, understandably, are apoplectic about the Luce. But being an avid fan of any type of car is a constant source of frustration. My food is already full reprimands involved of Luce.

Personally, I’m curious. Ive’s work at Apple focuses on minimalism, so it’s amazing to see realistic drawings of buttons, knobs, and switches inside Luce. Of course, both screens have rounded corners reminiscent of an iPhone or iPad, so Ive’s power is still front and center.

The central display sits on a ball-and-socket joint, which allows it to rotate for the driver or passenger. It also includes a palm rest so you can interact with the controls without looking. And the multigraph display made of three independent motors works as a clock, chronograph, compass, or direction indicator.

The rounded edges are all metal by Jony Ive, just as interesting. Gone are the sharp lines and aggressive styling that Ferrari spent nearly 80 years building its reputation around. What we have instead is a “house of glass,” large flying wings, and aggressive lighting to achieve the lowest drag in Ferrari history. If the Italian luxury car maker was going to lose its design for a new model, it would be this.

Whether or not Ferrari will fully embrace the Apple-ness of the Luce in support of iPhone makers CarPlay Ultra it remains to be seen. The Italian automaker hasn’t confirmed whether an expanded version of CarPlay, which takes up more screens and controls key functions like HVAC and cruise control, is coming to any of its models.

Once you get past the polarizing looks, the Ferrari Luce has a lot to admire under the hood. The EV has four electric motors pushing it out 1,035 power – but not in the same measure. The two front motors combined produce only 282 hp, while the rear motors produce 835 hp. This means acceleration from 0-60mph in 2.5 seconds, and 0-124mph in 6.8 seconds. It is not as fast as Lucid Sapphire or even recently discovered Mercedes-AMG GT 4-door coupebut honestly I doubt you’ll notice the difference when you burst into tears right away.

Supplying electricity to those motors is a 122kWh battery, although this is a dangerous alternative to the net. Ferrari claims 330 miles on the WLTP cycle, which is more predictable than the EPA model. Expect the final figure to be somewhere around 310 miles. The Luce is also built on an 800-volt design for fast DC charging, and can output 350kW.

The Luce represents many firsts for Ferrari. It’s the first EV, the first four-door sedan, and the heaviest Ferrari ever built, weighing in at 4,982 pounds — nearly 100 pounds more than the Ferrari Purosangue four-door SUV. Very surprising for an artist whose name means “light.”

The Luce may be heavier than the Purosangue, but the wheelbase is slightly shorter by 2.3 inches. This allows the battery to be connected directly to the bottom of the chassis. Which brings me to a broader point that probably explains why Luce looks the way she does. Building an EV is very different from building a sports car. If Ferrari had taken one of its mid-engined two-doors, or front-engined GTs, and swapped the battery for electric motors, these lights would have been much more difficult. The difference would be tragic. Aero would be wrong. The fans would appreciate the traditional, familiar look, but it would be useless as an EV.

Instead, Ferrari did what they had to do to make the Luce the best, most impressive EV it could possibly be. Handing over the keys to Ive and Newson was definitely a decision that Ferrari fans will struggle with in the near future.

Ive probably never built a car, but Newson certainly did. In fact, Luce looks amazing Ford 021Ca retro futuristic concept car that was first unveiled at the 1999 Tokyo Motor Show. Newson, who works at Apple alongside Ive, designed the 021C to look like a basic car that a child would draw in a simple “three box” with rounded edges, bright paint, and a white floating roof. Like the Luce, the 021C had front coach doors, and a trunk that slid out like a drawer instead of opening up. Perhaps Luce is more Newson’s brainchild than Ive’s.

However, the concept of an electric Ferrari has been in the ether for more than eight years. Former Ferrari chairman and CEO Sergio Marchionne at first he laughed at the possibility at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show, saying, “If there is an electric car to be built, then Ferrari will be the first.”

Ferrari certainly wasn’t the first. But it revealed something that is very special about his series. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing will be determined by the elite few who can afford the Luce’s $640,000 (€550,000) starting price. The automaker’s board, which includes Apple chief Eddy Cue as a non-executive member, is happy about it.

When it comes to the idea of ​​a car made by Apple, the Luce is probably the closest we can get. Apple’s original car, which was discontinued, remains an amazing, amazing thing, it has not been seen beyond negative feelings, of shame among the most dedicated in the company. And even though it looks like it’s been destroyed, the spirit lives on – everywhere in Rome.