Ferrari’s first all-electric supercar is getting roasted — with furious gearheads blasting the sleek new ride as an “iPhone on wheels” that risks turning the legendary Italian brand into a California tech toy.
The $640,000 Ferrari Luce — pronounced “LOO-chay,” Italian for “light” — was unveiled this week to a flood of online mockery, investor panic and criticism from some of Ferrari’s most loyal fans.
The futuristic four-door, five-seat electric car was designed with help from former Apple design guru Jony Ive, the mastermind behind the iPhone and iPod, through his San Francisco-based firm LoveFrom.
Many online were quick to say the EV looks more Cupertino than Maranello, the northern Italian city where Ferrari is headquartered.
“Legend has it that if you pull the Ferrari badge off the side of the new Luce you see an Apple logo underneath,” one X user joked.
Another viral meme showed the Luce flipped upside down with an iPhone charger plugged into its undercarriage.
Ferrari fans, known as Ferraristi, have been especially brutal, comparing the bubble-shaped EV to a Nissan Leaf that costs “half a million dollars less.”
“Why is it that some automakers think that electric vehicles have to look like electronic devices?” one Reddit commenter wrote.
Ferrari’s chief design officer, Flavio Manzoni, defended the polarizing look, saying the Luce is meant to serve as “a bridge between San Francisco and Maranello.”
But not everyone is buying it.
“We’re risking the destruction of a legend,” warned former Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo after seeing the car.
Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters
California Post News: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedIn
California Post Sports Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X
California Post Opinion
California Post Newsletters: Sign up here!
California Post App: Download here!
Home delivery: Sign up here!
Page Six Hollywood: Sign up here!
The backlash comes as the EV market continues sputtering — especially among luxury automakers. Ferrari’s stock has fallen about 8% since the Luce launch, while the company has slashed its long-term EV ambitions after weak demand across the industry.
Even rivals like Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Lamborghini have scaled back or delayed electric plans as buyers continue gravitating toward roaring gas engines and hybrids.
Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna has called the Luce a “Leapfrog moment” for the nearly 80-year-old automaker.
But for many Ferrari diehards, the silent EV already sounds like trouble.
