Ferrari shares plunged 5% Tuesday as car fanatics called the brand’s new $640,000 electric vehicle a “monstrosity” – comparing the design to much-cheaper rides and bashing the brand for using tech to replicate the iconic engine growl.
The “Luce,” named after the Italian word for light, is the Maranello, Italy-based sports car maker’s first-ever five-seater, designed by former Apple exec Jony Ive’s firm. Though the vehicle is equipped with half a ton of battery cells, it can hit 60 mph in around 2.5 seconds with a maximum speed of 192 mph.
But critics are questioning whether there is a customer for the new Luce, which breaks from the classic Ferrari look and boasts about its fully electric specs while most other automakers have backpedaled on their EV plans.
Some social media users pointed out that the new Luce – which will hit the market in the fourth quarter of the year at over half a million dollars – has an eerily similar design to the Nissan Leaf, an electric SUV that starts at roughly $30,000.
“I would have hoped the electric ferrari would be the CHEAPEST in the lineup,” one Reddit user wrote in a heated forum with Ferrari fans. “But instead they did the opposite and made it look like a wooden ikea toy.”
Another user added: “Yeah, you can buy several other fully decked out ev’s from brands with loads of ev experience for a quarter to a third of the price of this monstrosity. No one can convince me that the price of the badge on the front is worth 300k.”
Ferrari did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
One Reddit user attempted to defend the new Luce, pointing out that Ferrari plans to employ an “external amplification system” to pump the sound of the car’s electric axles onto the street, like an engine roar, and drivers can also switch on the sound amplification in the cockpit.
But another Ferrari critic sarcastically quipped: “What’s it going to amplify? Tyre roar? Wind noise? Coil whine?”
Another disappointed Ferrari fan compared the design to an “Alfa SZ that’s melted,” referring to Alfa Romeo’s limited-production 1989 sports car, adding that the Luce’s rear design “also makes it look like it’s giving birth to a smaller, slightly surprised looking car.”
Yet another Reddit-er predicted the Luce would sink Ferrari like Jaguar’s own failed rebrand in 2024, when the British luxury automaker debuted a commercial featuring men in skirts to announce its upcoming pivot to an all-electric fleet.
Ferrari’s electric ambitions come as no surprise after it opened a $230 million factory at its Italian headquarters in 2024 to allow production of EVs alongside hybrids and traditional vehicles.
But luxury rivals like Porsche and Lamborghini have recently hit the brakes on their EV plans, while American automakers Ford and Stellantis have reportedly swallowed multi-billion-dollar charges related to their reversal on EV production.
Electric vehicles have also largely fallen out of favor in the US, which is the world’s largest market for luxury cars. And the Luce is no bargain – landing among Ferrari’s most expensive models ever.
Ferrari Chairman John Elkann, who is also the chairman of Stellantis, is seemingly remaining positive about the Luce’s sales prospects.
“Our customers will choose. And I’m pretty sure, also from feedback that we’re getting, that we have existing customers who have combustions or hybrids who will also want to have electric,” Elkann said, according to the Wall Street Journal.