Ferrari’s First EV Gets Pope Leo’s Blessing, but Everyone Else Hates It

The first fully electric sports car from Ferrari, the Luce, has arrived, several years after its announcement. The 2027 Ferrari Luce has a base price of 550,000 euros (equivalent to about $640,000). And people have very strong opinions about it.

The Luce, which translates as “light,” has four doors and is Ferrari’s first five-seater. The appearance is a major departure from Ferrari’s signature styling, with a glass-and-aluminum design that might remind you of iconic Apple products. The firm LoveFrom, led by former Apple designers Jony Ive and Marc Newson, was enlisted to develop Luce’s aesthetic. 

The new style has sparked a digital firestorm, with many calling the look disappointing or downright ugly. 

Though you won’t yet find reviews of what it’s like to drive the new EV, Ferrari enthusiasts and casual car fans alike are expressing strong opinions online about whether the automaker has gone too far. Even a visit from Pope Leo XIV, who sat behind the wheel of the car and was given a steering wheel by Ferrari as tribute, didn’t do much to quell the online debate.

Some fans love its extreme specs and retro, button-filled cabin. Tim Levin at InsideEVs called the exterior design tech-forward and praised the interior in particular, which he said, “reads as a total rejection of the screen-ificiation of cars.”

But others are slamming the EV’s controversial exterior. Mat Watson at Carwow posted a video take questioning Ferrari’s choices and calling the design “dreadful.”

The Ferrari subreddit is full of barbed takes, including “Ferrari’s ugliest car ever?” and a post that even calls for the resignation of the company’s chief executive, Benedetto Vigna.

The backlash has triggered fierce internet debates and a brief dip in Ferrari’s stock price. On Tuesday, the day after the Luce was unveiled, Ferrari’s stock price fell about 6%. That may not matter if enough rich buyers purchase the car, said Bloomberg’s Craig Trudell, who said in a broadcast: “They don’t necessarily have to sell a ton of these to declare victory here.”

The Luce’s other specs

Ferrari’s 1,035-horsepower Luce can reach nearly 200 mph and hit 60 mph in 2.5 seconds, according to the carmaker. It offers a range of about 330 miles per full electric charge. The signature roar of a Ferrari is now an amplified sound from electric axles pumped outside the car, which can be enabled in the vehicle’s interior as well. 

The Luce is the only EV in Ferrari’s lineup, announced at a time when rising gas prices may have shoppers reconsidering electric vehicles amid a slowdown in sales, at least in the US. Some automakers, especially luxury brands such as Porsche and Lamborghini, have scrapped or delayed plans to introduce EV models. Others have opted to introduce more hybrid vehicles while the electric vehicle market continues to mature.

Preorders for the vehicle will begin in Italy by the end of May, and it is slated to arrive in the US next spring. 

Ferrari introduced a hybrid model in 2019 and, in 2022, pledged that 40% of its cars would be electric by 2030. That timeline seems unlikely at this point.