Ferrari’s Luce EV: Jony Ive Brings Apple-Caliber Minimalism to Maranello

Background

Ferrari sits at a peculiar crossroads. On one hand, Maranello’s identity is inseparable from the shriek of high-revving engines, tactility at the limit, and an insistence that technology serve emotion, not the other way around. On the other hand, regulation, urban air-quality rules, and the gravity of electrification are pulling even the most storied performance brands toward batteries, inverters, and software. Ferrari has already embraced electrification at the edges—with hybrids like the SF90 and 296—but the pure electric chapter has always loomed as a braver rewrite.

That rewrite now arrives with an unexpected co-author: Jony Ive, Apple’s former chief design officer, whose imprint on consumer tech is so deep that “aluminum and glass” practically describes an era. Through LoveFrom, the design collective he co-founded, Ive has had a multi-year relationship with Ferrari’s parent company, Exor. Until now, that tie-up felt abstract—an alignment of taste, craft, and intent. The first Ferrari EV, reportedly named Luce (Italian for “light”), brings it into sharp focus.

Pairing Ive’s studio with Ferrari’s Centro Stile, led by Flavio Manzoni, raises a productive tension. Ferrari’s design ethos is cinematic and sculptural; LoveFrom’s is reductionist and obsessively resolved. If you asked for an object that somehow satisfies both masters, you’d likely end up with something serene, intensely machined, and paradoxically dramatic in its quiet.

What happened

A first look inside Ferrari’s electric car reveals a cabin drawn with a minimalist hand and assembled from the materials that defined Ive’s Apple era: expanses of glass, cool-to-the-touch aluminum, and controls that look less bolted-on and more grown from the structure. Surfaces appear unbroken and almost liquid in their continuity; where there are seams, they are deliberate and fine.

What stands out most is how the interior seems to merge hardware, software, and light. The dashboard reads as a single glass plane with displays nested beneath—less like a television glued to a wall and more like pixels living inside an architectural element. The center console is simple by intent, with few protrusions and what appear to be precisely milled rotaries or sliders where tactility is non-negotiable. The steering wheel—the most sacred Ferrari interface after the throttle—looks stripped of clutter yet capable of dense interaction, suggesting haptic zones, minimal but decisive switches, and perhaps a rethinking of the traditional “manettino” drive-mode selector into something cleaner and more integrated.

From the materials palette to the joinery, it’s hard to miss the Apple DNA: unpainted metal that’s meant to be metal, glass that does more than display (it performs acoustically, thermally, and visually), and an intolerance for visual noise. The overall effect is not a gadget transplanted into a car; it’s a car interior that takes gadget-level craft seriously.

In design terms, “swathed in glass and aluminum” also signals ambition and risk:

• Glass suggests continuity: instrument cluster, infotainment, and ambient lighting can blend, turning the cabin into a living interface. But it also raises issues of glare, fingerprints, and reflections—especially in a cockpit where the driver’s eyes are trained on apexes, not menus.
• Aluminum indicates a preference for durability and precision over the warm forgivingness of plastics. Unpainted metal shows every machining decision; done right, it telegraphs purpose and permanence.
• Minimalism can relax the senses or frustrate the hands. The trick is to keep critical functions immediate and mechanical enough to use by feel, not sight.

It’s not surprising, then, that this Ferrari’s interior doesn’t chase the maximalist, screen-for-every-seat trope. What it appears to chase is cohesion. The world outside can be chaotic; inside should be singular—and significantly, fast.

Why glass and aluminum matter technically

• Glare and reflectivity: A broad glass fascia looks glorious under studio lights but must defeat Mediterranean noon. Expect multi-layer laminates with anti-reflective coatings, micro-etching for diffusion, and careful hooding of sunward elements. Oleophobic treatments will be key for smudge control, and the UI will need high-contrast modes that remain legible under harsh angle-of-incidence glare.
• Thermal performance: Glass and aluminum feel cool in a showroom and hot after a track session. Active thermal management for touchpoints, laminated glass with solar attenuation, and intelligent HVAC zoning (likely directed via subtle, concealed vents) will matter for endurant comfort.
• Acoustics: Laminated glass can carry ambient lighting and displays, but it also helps isolate sound—useful if Ferrari plans to curate an EV “voice” that’s more symphonic than synthetic. Aluminum structures can ring; strategic damping and soft-interfaces will tame resonance.
• Manufacturing and tolerances: Low-volume, ultra-premium runs allow obsessive tolerances. Expect billet or high-pressure die-cast parts where mainstream makers accept injection-molded plastic. The result is a feel you cannot fake: edges that meet like watchmaking, controls with watch-spring inevitability.

The Apple-ness and the Ferrari-ness

If you squint, you can imagine a Venn diagram where Ferrari’s theater meets Apple’s hush. That overlap is the Luce’s target. Ferrari needs to preserve moment-to-moment driving meaning—trail-brake poise, intimate steering, adjustable balance—while Apple-fluent design seeks calm coherence.

There are practical tensions to resolve:

• Physical vs. digital controls: Safety groups increasingly push back against menu-diving for core functions. Ferrari has long put mission-critical controls on the wheel; don’t expect them to vanish. Instead, anticipate a split: physical, textured hardware for drive modes, indicators, wipers, and camera triggers; haptic or touch for navigation, media, and cabin ambiance.
• Emotion without combustion: Ferrari has filed concepts for enhancing EV aural character, but the task is delicate. Drivers don’t want sci-fi; they want feedback that carries meaning—tire load, motor effort, aero wake. Good sound design could make EV dynamics legible without faking an exhaust.
• Weight vs. feel: Battery mass is a fact. Ferrari’s history with mixed-material chassis and hybrid packaging suggests a path: keep the pack low and centralized, chase stiffness for immediate response, and use software torque vectoring to produce that Ferrari rotation on throttle.

Key takeaways

• Ferrari’s EV leans into a restrained, glass-and-aluminum aesthetic shaped with Jony Ive’s LoveFrom—think coherence over spectacle.
• The interior suggests a single, integrated interface plane rather than a bolted-on screen stack, with carefully chosen physical controls for essentials.
• Expect sophisticated materials engineering: anti-glare glass laminates, precise metalwork, and damping to balance cool materials with warm sensation.
• “Luce” as a name (light) cues both illumination and lightness—fitting for a car that must feel airy despite battery mass.
• Software will be as defining as hardware. Ferrari’s clientele expects first-class CarPlay today and cohesive native UX tomorrow; the revealed design leaves room for both.
• The biggest open questions are dynamic: weight, heat management, charge rates, and how Ferrari renders “emotion” without combustion theatrics.

What to watch next

• Performance architecture: Will Ferrari adopt an 800-volt system with silicon-carbide inverters for repeatable track performance and brisk charging? Watch for details on pack chemistry, cooling channels, and inverter placement.
• Weight strategy: Battery capacity vs. agility. A smaller, lighter pack with ruthless thermal management could align with Ferrari’s handling-first ethos. Torque vectoring logic may become part of the “house feel.”
• Sound and haptics: Expect curated, data-driven cabin acoustics and haptic cues tied to grip, regen thresholds, and aero state. The goal isn’t novelty—it’s legible, confidence-building feedback.
• Control philosophy: How many physical interfaces survive? European safety ratings are starting to reward tactile controls for critical functions; Ferrari is likely to keep a few jewel-like, machined actuators where it counts.
• Software stack and Apple ties: Ferrari has historically embraced CarPlay. Next-gen CarPlay can take over clusters and HVAC. A LoveFrom-shaped car could be a showcase for tasteful deep integration without surrendering brand identity.
• Charging strategy: Ultra-luxury customers often charge at home, but track-day usefulness depends on fast public DC charging. Partnerships or concierge charging services could appear as ownership differentiators.
• Personalization: Ferrari’s Tailor Made program thrives on material choice. Expect new frontiers: etched glass patterns, anodized aluminum hues, signature light animations, and sound profiles the owner can “compose” within tasteful bounds.
• Timing and volume: The company has signaled an EV debut in the mid-2020s with tightly controlled build numbers. Watch the cadence from reveal to customer deliveries—and whether early allocations skew toward insiders and collectors.

FAQ

• What is the Ferrari Luce?
  The Luce is understood to be Ferrari’s first all-electric model. Early looks emphasize a serene, glass-and-aluminum cabin shaped in collaboration with Jony Ive’s LoveFrom studio.

• Why is Jony Ive involved with Ferrari?
  Ive’s design collective, LoveFrom, has a multi-year relationship with Exor, Ferrari’s lead shareholder. The Luce shows that relationship moving from strategy to sheet metal—and glass.

• Will it still feel like a Ferrari without an engine?
  That’s the brand’s central challenge. Expect a renewed focus on steering fidelity, chassis balance, braking feel, and sound/haptic feedback that makes EV dynamics intuitive without imitating exhaust noise.

• Does the minimalist interior mean fewer physical buttons?
  Likely fewer, but not none. Critical, eyes-off functions should remain tactile. Less urgent features will live in an integrated digital interface designed to be quick and legible.

• What about CarPlay and software?
  Ferrari has been one of CarPlay’s staunchest supporters. The Luce’s clean interface looks designed to host high-quality smartphone integration alongside a native system that matches the cabin’s aesthetic.

• How does the design handle glare and fingerprints on all that glass?
  Expect anti-reflective laminates, high-contrast UI modes, micro-etched surfaces, and oleophobic coatings. The proof will be real-world visibility at noon and at night on a wet road.

• When will it arrive and how much will it cost?
  Ferrari has targeted the mid-2020s for its first EV. Pricing will sit at the apex of the lineup—think well into seven figures for early, highly specified builds, with official numbers to come at the full reveal.

• Is this the end of Ferrari’s engines?
  No. Ferrari has indicated a multi-powertrain future. The EV broadens the portfolio; it doesn’t erase V6, V8, or V12 cars overnight.

Source & original reading

Original reporting and images: https://www.wired.com/story/ferrari-ev-jony-ive-design/