The same idea applies to the car’s general proportions. A short front and long rear overhang, typical of most ICE-powered GTs and sports cars, is not just the result of packaging in a large engine and making sure there’s a big boot, but it also offers that same sense of movement, as if the body is being left behind as the wheels drive forward.
The Luce’s tight overhangs on both axles give a very ‘BEV’ form, as you’ll see on all manner of bespoke electric cars from Mercedes to Hyundai, but it just doesn’t translate on premium or luxury products. If you’re wondering why a Mercedes EQS SUV looks a little too much like a mid-size people carrier from 2005, this is why. Jaguar’s Type 01, by contrast, doesn’t have any issues portraying the fact it’s a large and luxurious car, even if it has its own critics.
The Luce also has too much bodywork over the rear wheels – in fact, the car’s body is too tall in general – and the aero openings front and rear look ill-defined and blobby. The ‘inner’ body at the rear also accentuates the car’s excessive height, and even though this is a wide car, it looks narrow because your eyes almost tell you the outer skin isn’t really part of the car – it’s like a clumsy plastic case on an immaculate new iPhone.
From a personal perspective, I wanted the Ferrari Luce to succeed, and still want the design nous of people like Sir Johnny Ive and Mark Newson to radiate around the automotive design world and disrupt all the automotive design studios.
It’s not like Ferrari doesn’t need a snap back to reality too. The company’s Centro Stile in Maranello is still in need of a stronger design narrative across its cars, especially inside, and much to the delight of Flavio Manzoni, the current head of design at Ferrari, this mis-step might only make his current form language sit more comfortably in the short term. The Luce should not be lighting the way forwards for Ferrari design, even if the incredible tech and engineering underneath means that it really should.
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