The Ferrari Luce EV Is The Apple Car We Never Got

Ferrari has finally unveiled its first ever EV, the Luce,

and its Jony Ive and Mark Newson, Apple-esque aesthetics

are proving polarizing.

Apple spent 10 years and reportedly more than $10 billion

developing an EV, codenamed Project Titan,

before scrapping it in 2024 to focus on, yes, AI.

With Ive only departing Apple in 2019,

he had years at the company while Titan was running

before he and a core team left to form LoveFrom,

the design agency that Ferrari placed in the driving seat

to craft its first ever EV.

But the Luce, with its considered rounded corners,

brushed aluminum, and sculpted glass-house exterior

has, for all the world to see,

all the hallmarks of the products

that Ive spent decades perfecting at Apple.

So, is this the Apple EV in all but name?

To its already vociferous social media critics,

the Luce is an iPad on wheels,

or a 193-mile-an-hour Apple mouse.

Ferrari faithfuls and some motoring commentators

are appalled that the Luce design,

with its hints of Alfa and Tesla,

has landed so far

from the brand's lauded stable of iconic cars.

Ive himself has described the Luce

as still clearly a Ferrari,

but candidly admits that it represents

a different manifestation based on some

of the beliefs around simplicity.

A different manifestation indeed, one that,

had it arrived as the Apple car

and not costing $640,000,

would've likely been universally praised as a triumph.

And remember, this is from a team

that has never designed a car before.

You cannot blame Ferrari

for actually doing something new here either.

Luxury EVs are bombing with Mercedes' electric G-Wagen

being a particular disaster.

Lamborghini has pushed its first EV back to 2029.

Bentley has moved its all-electric deadline

from 2030 to 2035.

Porsche, at the enormous expense,

has remapped its immediate future back to combustion.

The cross-pollination of Ferrari and LoveFrom

could yield truly amazing things

and very-much needed innovation.

The whole of Ferrari will be crossing everything

that the Luce gets a reception

on forecourts that matches the EV's pre-reveal anticipation.

But for Wired, what some are missing here

is not that the Luce isn't, on first reaction at least,

red-blooded enough for the Tifosi.

It's a bittersweet glimpse into an alternative reality,

one where Apple stayed the course and brought us its own EV.