- Luca di Montezemolo says the Luce shouldn’t have the Prancing Horse badge.
- Ferrari’s former boss says the Luce risks destroying the fabled Italian brand.
- Italy’s deputy Prime Minister has also fiercely criticized the all-electric Ferrari.
In February, iPhone designer Jony Ive warned us that the all-electric Ferrari Luce would be controversial, but not even he would have predicted the market’s initial response to the car and its exterior design.
Just a few months ago, pundits praised the interior of the Luce, which eschews the over-reliance on touch-sensitive controls of other Ferrari models in favor of physical buttons, switches, and toggles. But while LoveFrom, the design agency run by Ive that designed the Luce, nailed the car’s interior, the same can’t be said about the exterior. Not even former Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo likes the car.
Read: Ferrari’s Luce Is A Four-Door EV Designed By The iPhone Guy
Shortly after Ferrari lifted the veil on the Luce, di Montezemolo briefly spoke with Italian publication Askanews about it. According to him, it’s the type of vehicle that not even the Chinese will be willing to copy.
“If I had to say what I really think, I would be hurting Ferrari,” he said. “We’re risking the destruction of a legend, and I’m very sorry about that. I hope they at least remove the Prancing Horse from that car. This is surely a car that at least the Chinese won’t copy from us.”
La #Ferrari Luce non è proprio piaciuta a #Montezemolo pic.twitter.com/yFBb76XOTP
— askanews (@askanews_ita) May 26, 2026
That final statement was perhaps a thinly-veiled swipe at Xiaomi, which launched its YU7 SUV last year, looking suspiciously like the Ferrari Purosangue.
It’s not just di Montezemolo who appears shocked by the new Luce. Even Italy’s deputy prime minister and transport minister, Matteo Salvini, expressed his feelings on X.
“It looks nothing like a (Ferrari),” he wrote. “Is this supposed to be ‘innovation’? Who knows what Enzo Ferrari would say.”
Elettrica, costosissima (550 mila euro!) e, dal punto di vista estetico, si commenta da sola… Sembra tutto fuorché un'auto del Cavallino. E questa sarebbe “innovazione”? Chissà Enzo Ferrari cosa direbbe… pic.twitter.com/zITSlz1a9j
— Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) May 26, 2026
Shortly after Ferrari lifted the covers on the Luce, shares in the brand dropped 8.4 percent in Italy and 5.1 percent in the US. Ferrari has been open about its ambitions for the Luce to attract a new generation of wealthy buyers, particularly those who are environmentally focused, but whether or not it’ll even appeal to them remains to be seen.
