- 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.
Some car launches court controversy by accident. The Luce did it on purpose, and the man who ran Ferrari for two decades is not amused. Back in February, iPhone designer Jony Ive warned us the all-electric Ferrari Luce would be controversial. Even he likely did not anticipate how sharply the market would turn on the exterior design.
Just a few months ago, pundits were praising the interior of the Luce, which ditches the over-reliance on touch-sensitive controls found in other Ferraris in favor of physical buttons, switches, and toggles. But while LoveFrom, the design agency run by Ive that penned the Luce, nailed the cabin, the same cannot be said for the exterior. Even former Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo, who served as Chairman and CEO from 1991 to 2014, is not a fan.
Read: Ferrari’s Luce Is A Four-Door EV Designed By The iPhone Guy
Shortly after Ferrari pulled the wraps off the Luce, di Montezemolo gave Italian publication Askanews his unvarnished take. In his view, this is the rare Ferrari even the Chinese will not bother 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 last 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.
