Unpacking the Ferrari Luce’s styling

May 27, 2026

We travelled to Rome to attend the global reveal of the Ferrari Luce, the Maranello brand’s highly anticipated first all-electric vehicle. Destined to be divisive, here’s how Ferrari explained the car’s exterior styling.

Image: Ferrari

Overseen by Ferrari Design Studio, led by Flavio Manzoni, both the interior and exterior of the Luce were finalised in conjunction with LoveFrom, the powerhouse design studio owned by ex-Apple man Sir Jony Ive and Marc Newson. Including a mandate to be the Maranello-based marque’s first four-door, five-seater product, Newson confirmed that the decision to make the Luce all-electric was made after the project began.

“The Ferrari Luce has acquired such a specific identity precisely because the designers were given the freedom to conceive a disruptive yet coherent form. In tackling the development of the car, LoveFrom was, in fact, granted the philosophical and design autonomy needed to present a complete, global proposal, whose research would extend into fields beyond that of pure car design,” said the brand on the night. “The guiding principle was simplification, with styling cues that recall closed forms and smooth, pure shapes. Subsequently, during the development phase, LoveFrom worked with Ferrari Design Studio, refining the concept in keeping with its original intent and ensuring that every solution was in line with Ferrari’s functional targets, architectural constraints, and the homologation requirements of a production road-going sportscar.”

Also read: 10 things to know about the Ferrari Luce

The best way to understand the Luce’s styling is to break the car up into two sections. The so-called glasshouse, or passenger cell (the black bits), was developed to be as aerodynamically efficient as possible. This includes making the section running from the tip of the nose to the top of the windscreen as flat as possible. It’s also why the windscreen wipers are positioned as they are – vertically and opposite side the windscreen. This glass section then runs over the raised cabin and down to the tailgate.

Image: Ferrari

The body of the Luce (finished in an exterior colour) was then “placed” over the glasshouse like a waistband, while having as little impact on air flowing up and over the cell as possible. This (somewhat) explains the “mouth”-like gap in the nose section, side vents that open into curiously blacked-out sections on the front doors, and the intricate bodywork around the tailgate.

Including wide-opening coach doors, like those of the Purosangue, at the rear, the Luce is fitted with 23-inch alloy wheels up front and even larger, 24-inch items at the rear. Available with aerodynamically-optimised wheel designs, the rear tyres are 315/30 ZR24.

While the Luce weighs 2.2 tonnes, Ferrari is quick to point out that, as a result of this car’s all-electric packaging, the Luce actually has a 95 mm lower centre of gravity than an equivalently sized internal combustion vehicle.