[ad_1]
Ferrari fans have not reacted warmly to the brand’s first electric car.
The new Ferrari Luce, a sleek SUV with a similar shape to Tesla’s Model Y, made its global debut this week.
Styled in part by Australian designer Marc Newson, who co-founded design firm LoveFrom with former Apple colleague Jony Ive, the car has had a difficult reception.
Ferrari’s social media pages have been inundated with thousands of comments from people reacting passionately to the car.
RELATED: Ferrari Luce electric car revealed
“Ferrari really said “what if we removed everything people like about Ferrari?” said one person.
“It’s not too late to delete this,” said another.
One person asked “Can I sue Ferrari for hurting my eyes?” and other suggested that “the whirring sound isn’t the electric motor, it’s [company founder] Enzo [Ferrari] spinning in his grave”.
Others used words like “horrible”, “disgusting”, and an “abomination” to describe what many felt was “the ugliest” Ferrari in years.
Ferrari chief executive Benedetto Vigna defended the model by saying the electric Luce opens new “technology avenues” for customers.
“This is not replacing anything, this is adding,” he said.
“A lot of companies talked about electric transition, we talk about electric addition.
MORE: How Ferrari’s Luce could change cars forever
“It’s the client selecting the car they believe is the right one for different moments, for different locations.”
Speaking at the launch of the car in Rome, Newson said the task of designing Ferrari’s first electric car was “a loaded project”.
“It’s a big one, it’s a serious thing,” he said.
“It was an absolute dream to be able to work with Ferrari. Not only to work with Ferrari, which we’ve been doing for many years, but to work on a project like this with Ferrari.”
Newson and the LoveFrom team brought more than a little of Apple’s look to the Luce.
It’s no accident the car’s exquisitely finished interior has the combination of metal and glass, with rounded edges and satisfying tactility people have come to expect from an Apple Watch, iPhone or MacBook.
It looks nothing like anything in Ferrari showrooms today.
That might be a good thing.
The brand’s interiors have faced consistent criticism for fussy controls and a tricky user interface eliminated by the Luce.
Frustrating touch-sensitive plastic surfaces in other Ferrari models have been replaced by the satisfying click of metal or glass switches, knobs, and dials in the EV.
But the car’s exterior is an enormous departure from traditional Ferrari supercars.
Remove Ferrari’s famous prancing horse logos and it could be mistaken for a machine made by many other brands.
MORE: BYD eyes F1 opportunity
Perhaps even Apple.
The tech firm’s “Project Titan” electric car absorbed years of work and enormous resources before the electronics giant cancelled plans to offer a Tesla rival.
A close relationship between Ferrari and LoveFrom’s founders, who are wealthy Ferrari owners, helped Ive and Newson land the job of designing one of the brand’s most important models yet.
“We didn’t need to pitch for the job, so to speak,” Newson said.
“Jony and I, we’re Ferrari collectors, right?
“We race. I do a lot of driving, rallying, racing and all in classic vehicles.
“I’ve currently got a thing called a [Ferrari] 375 MM, which is a car designed and built for the Mille Miglia in 1954.
“So, you know, we appreciate the driving experience, which is essentially a Ferrari characteristic, right?
“It’s about being able to deliver it.”
The Aussie designer, whose resume includes work for brands such as Qantas and RM Williams, is proud of what his team achieved in the Luce.
“We’ve been intrinsically involved in the design of this product specifically from inside to out,” he said.
“I think unlike a lot of other automotive brands, where the design team tend to work in silos for the exterior or the interior or different elements of the vehicle, we’ve worked on this in a completely holistic way …
“We wanted to create a clean, coherent experience that really enabled you as a driver, but also as a passenger, to be able to experience this thing in its purest form, in most of its unadulterated way, which is ultimately what a Ferrari should be.”
[ad_2]
