It’s too early to tell, but Ferrari shares fell 8% following the launch and, though I haven’t seen one ‘in the flesh’, there seem to be few supporters of Sir Jony Ive’s ‘cab forward’ design – a stark contrast to Ferrari’s traditional emotionally-charged design language. While this fundamental rethink has been made possible by changing physics, many observers have said it looks more like a Chinese EV than a European supercar.
THE HIGH-RISK LUXURY EV PIVOT
Faced with the same design challenge, Jaguar’s Type 0 muscle-car took a ‘cab backwards’ approach, following the aesthetic of the E-Type and, ironically, Ferrari’s last 4-seater GT, the awkward and unloved 612 Scaglietti. Given Jaguar’s tardy follow-through, we still don’t know what fits under the Jag’s long bonnet.
Without a V12 powertrain dictating proportions, Ferrari gained design freedom but risks losing the visual drama that made its cars instantly recognisable and emotionally intoxicating. Ferraris have always been lithe, sinuous and sculpted, bought for their fabulous engines and svelte lines, but while the Luce looks beautifully detailed, it also looks frumpy, chubby even. Many have said it could be confused with a BYD, which is a bit harsh, but I can see what they mean. When your main differentiator (the engine) is no longer relevant, how do you retain the brand’s valuable mystique, built on racing pedigree? This becomes even more challenging when delivering supercar performance is no longer the challenge it once was. Every EV manufacturer can bolt on bigger electric motors and batteries and now with BYD contemplating F1, 0-100mph numbers and racing credentials won’t differentiate as they once did. It won’t be long before others match the Luce’s quad-motor 1,064 bhp.
The Luce’s design certainly provides much more interior space – and the 5-seat interior does look beautiful – but is that why you pay €550,000 for a Ferrari? Probably not for Ferrari’s worldwide petrolhead loyalists, so the Luce must target a new customer base of younger, tech-savvy, status-conscious multi-millionaires.
Ferrari’s previous chairman Luca di Montezemolo thinks that’s the wrong approach and has given a scathing reception to the Luce, suggesting it betrays the heritage of the marque, saying “I hope they take off the prancing horse (logo) from that car.”
THE LUXURY BRAND SLUMP AND THE RISKS OF CHASING RADICAL CHANGE
Those of us who work with luxury brands know the business of luxury faces many challenges right now, with brand reputations exploited to satisfy the ever more demanding needs of institutional shareholders. Luxury’s strong post-Covid run seems to have come to an end, and much navel gazing is underway. Big moves are afoot with several luxury brands chasing radical change, from Jaguar and Ferrari to Audemar Piguet’s recent polarising collaboration with Swatch.
The big risk for Ferrari – one of the most profitable of all auto brands, making margins of 30% by carefully maintaining the brand’s mystique – isn’t just to disappoint with an unloved model (there have been some before), but its collaboration with Jonny Ive and Marc Newson’s LoveFrom studio dilutes the brand’s core emotional proposition.
When brand myths are demystified and the barriers to performance are removed, what are supercar brands left with? Do they become expensive travel devices? Does the Ferrari Luce mark the start of the ‘appliancification’ of automotive design, easily copied by mass-market marques and softening us up for a future of robotaxis and drones? Will “getting there” no longer be the pleasure it once was for those who can afford a sleek supercar with the symphonic soundtrack of a high-performance engine?
The launch of the Ferrari Luce begs a lot of questions, but the big one for Ferrari is what the Prancing Horse will stand for once its V12s all become 12V?
Peter Matthews
Nucleus founder & CEO
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