Against the monumental backdrop of the Vela di Calatrava – Città dello Sport in Rome, Ferrari opened the most transformative chapter in its modern history with the global debut of the Ferrari Luce. The date and setting carry immense symbolic weight: exactly 79 years earlier, on May 25, 1947, Franco Cortese piloted the legendary 125 S around the Baths of Caracalla to secure the Prancing Horse’s maiden motorsport victory. Returning to the Italian capital, Maranello has once again redefined what a sports car can be.
The Luce represents the pinnacle of Ferrari’s “technological neutrality” strategy, first announced at its 2022 Capital Markets Day. Rather than abandoning internal combustion or hybrid architectures, Ferrari views electrification as an additive canvas—unlocking unprecedented freedom in vehicle packaging, vehicle dynamics, and human-machine interaction without compromising its racing soul.
Design Purezza: Conceived with LoveFrom
To establish a design language suited to this paradigm shift, Maranello looked beyond traditional automotive boundaries, partnering directly with LoveFrom, the renowned creative collective founded by Sir Jony Ive and Marc Newson. Collaborating alongside the Ferrari Design Studio, LoveFrom was granted creative autonomy to define a holistic aesthetic guided by clarity, reduction, and formal purity.
The visual identity of the Luce centers on an uncompromising, shell-like glass house that extends dramatically below the beltline. Floating aerodynamic wings frame the front and rear, appearing to hover around the central passenger cell. Lighting elements are integrated flush into the transparent body surfaces, gently receding from view when switched off to preserve sculptural continuity. At the rear, iconic halo taillights pay homage to modern classics like the 360 Modena and 458 Italia.
The electric platform has enabled a configuration never before seen in Maranello: a true four-door, five-seat layout. Free from the constraints of traditional transmission tunnels and front-mid combustion engines, the cabin delivers generous interior volume within a taut, aerodynamic silhouette that boasts the lowest drag coefficient in Ferrari road car history. The stance is anchored by the largest staggered wheels ever fitted to a production Ferrari—23 inches at the front and 24 inches at the rear.
Tactile Cockpit & Digital Soul
Inside, the Luce strips away modern automotive clutter, avoiding gratuitous screen real estate in favor of honest, premium materials: recycled anodized aluminum, supple leather, and custom-engineered Corning® Gorilla® Glass.
The driver’s cockpit balances mechanical tactility with contextual digital information. Precision dials, switches, and toggles are paired with bespoke, multi-layered OLED displays developed in partnership with Samsung Display. The steering binnacle articulates synchronously with the aluminum steering wheel, ensuring crucial instrumentation—such as speed, state of charge, and power delivery—remains directly in the driver’s line of sight.
The vehicle key itself is an automotive first: crafted from Gorilla Glass, it incorporates a bi-stable E-Ink display. When docked into the center console, a pulse of historic Ferrari yellow cascades across the cabin displays, waking the drivetrain. For acoustic refinement, a bespoke 21-speaker, 3,000-watt audio system features the proprietary Ferrari Audio Signature with dedicated listening modes.
Four Motors, 1,050 cv: The Symphony of Total Control
Beneath the sculpted bodywork lies an engineering tour de force developed, validated, and manufactured entirely in-house at Maranello:
- Four Radial-Flux Electric Engines: Derived from the F80 supercar and WEC endurance racers, one motor drives each individual wheel. Operating on an 800V architecture, the front engines spin up to 30,000 rpm while the rear motors reach 25,500 rpm.
- Explosive Output: The system unleashes a combined 1,050 cv (772 kW) and a staggering 11,500 Nm of torque measured at the wheels during Launch Control, rocketing the 2,260 kg car from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds and past 310 km/h.
- Structural 122 kWh Battery: Comprising 210 cells co-developed with SK on, the structural pack integrates flush beneath the floorpan, yielding a center of gravity 95 mm lower than the Purosangue and supporting 350 kW DC ultra-fast charging (10–80% in 20 minutes) alongside an electric range exceeding 530 km.
Dynamic agility is orchestrated by the new Vehicle Control Unit (VCU), which updates target calculations 200 times per second in concert with Side Slip Control X (SSC X). Each wheel operates with independent control across traction, vertical damping, and steering. F80-derived active suspension with electrically controlled dampers works seamlessly with an independently steering rear axle, generating yaw control and handling that defies its luxury proportions.
Rather than simulating artificial gear shifts, Ferrari introduces Torque Shift Engagement. Operated via mechanical steering wheel paddles, the driver can manually modulate five progressive torque-delivery curves using the right paddle and five regenerative braking profiles using the left, restoring intuitive rhythm to every corner entry and apex exit.
Addressing the challenge of electric acoustic feedback, Ferrari rejected synthetic synthesizers. Instead, a patented axle-mounted accelerometer captures the authentic mechanical vibrations and harmonic resonance of the rotating gears and motors, equalizing and projecting a rich, living acoustic signature both inside and outside the vehicle.
With over 60 new patents, the Ferrari Luce proves that the transition to zero emissions does not signify the end of emotion; it marks the dawn of an exhilarating new chapter for the Prancing Horse.
