Criticism surrounding the Ferrari Luce has not subsided for several days after its premiere. But now professional automotive designers have joined the discussion – and their claims turned out to be much more complex than ordinary comments about an “ugly Ferrari.” According to Alexey Semenov, a designer who worked with Nio, Great Wall Motor, Fisker, and Fiat, the main problem with the Luce is not in individual details, but in the conflict of two different design philosophies.
Semenov believes that the car looks simultaneously short, narrow, and tall – an extremely difficult combination of proportions for automotive design. Because of this, the body visually appears compressed, and the overall silhouette loses its sense of dynamism and confidence. He particularly sharply criticized the wheel design. Despite the enormous 23- and 24-inch wheels, their design visually reduces their size, making the car look heavier and less sporty.
But the main point concerns the project's philosophy: the Luce looks like a product created at the intersection of industrial and automotive design – two disciplines that operate under completely different rules. He calls the interior well-thought-out, holistic, and high-quality product design. However, in his opinion, the exterior did not bring this idea to its logical conclusion and remained too cautious. As a result, the car turned out to be “neither one nor the other.”
This conclusion unexpectedly coincides with the criticism of other specialists. Italian designers interviewed by WIRED also stated that the Luce resembles an industrial product more than a classic Ferrari car. Some directly link this to the involvement of former Apple design chief Jony Ive and the LoveFrom studio.
In fact, Ferrari has faced the same crisis that the entire electric vehicle industry is currently experiencing. In the ICE era, many sports cars built their identity around the engine, sound, and mechanical emotions. Electric vehicles deprive brands of some of these tools, so designers are increasingly trying to find inspiration in the world of technology, electronics, and digital products.
The problem is that for decades, Ferrari sold not just cars, but automotive drama. And when a brand starts using the language of industrial design, the audience instantly notices the gap between expectations and results.
It is no coincidence that after the Luce presentation, Ferrari's shares temporarily dropped, and former company head Luca di Montezemolo stated that the brand risks “destroying the myth.”
Paradoxically, criticism of the Luce is less and less about the car itself and more and more about the future of automotive design in general.
Because the debate around Ferrari today essentially boils down to one question: should the electric car of the future look like a car or like a high-tech product? The industry has not yet found a common answer to this question.