People Were Already Mad About The Ferrari EV. Then We Saw The Interior
Ferrari has unveiled parts of its first EV's interior, and it looks very different from any other Ferrari produced in the last few decades.
It is heavily inspired by the shapes of the 1960s, but also clearly influenced by its designer's former employer, Apple.
Ferrari also confirmed the name of its first EV, Luce, which means 'light' in Italian.
Ferrari is clearly looking to differentiate its future EV from the rest of its lineup. Its cars have adopted a fairly futuristic design both inside and out. But the upcoming EV—which we now know will be called "Luce"—rips a page straight out of the history books and reinterprets it through the eyes of a former Apple designer. The result is unusual to say the least, and bound to stir up more controversy for an already contentious product.
The Apple connection is more than incidental. That’s because this interior is designed in collaboration with LoveForm, an American collective of designers founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive. Ive was behind some of the company's most iconic designs, spearheading the team that designed the first iPhone. Once you learn about the Apple connection, why this interior looks the way it does starts to make sense.
Ferrari says “the cabin is conceived as a single, clean volume, with forms simplified and rationalised in the service of driving.” It’s definitely simple and rational, but we need to see the finished vehicle to decide how it all comes together visually. There could be a contrast between the style of the interior and exterior, with the latter adopting a more flamboyant style that's more typical of modern Ferraris.
I do like the elegant three-prong steering wheel, which is the cabin’s main focal point. It features the usual assortment of buttons that you expect to find in a current Ferrari, but they are grouped in two separate pods, which intentionally look tacked on so as not to corrupt the purity of the wheel’s design. The only controls on the wheel itself are the turn signals, two flush, round buttons with the same silver finish as the metal prongs. Since the designers went to the trouble of keeping it clean, I would have liked to see them incorporated into the pods, but that's a minor complaint.
Behind the wheel is an instrument binnacle that moves with you when you adjust it, so the instrument cluster is never obscured. Just like the rest of the interior, the dials are unashamedly retro, yet still fully digital. On the left, there’s a power meter, while the center is reserved for a big speedo, and on the right, there's a G-force meter, although this is likely configurable and you can have something else displayed there too.
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Source: Ferrari
Surrounding the three digital dial cutouts is another screen that displays additional parameters, adding depth to the digital cluster. It’s complemented by a central screen angled toward the driver, with another screen for rear occupants. Thankfully, they appear to have physical controls for seat heating and cooling, as well as for adjusting the temperature and the fan speed. There’s also a volume knob below the front screen, three extra buttons and a real analog clock in the upper right corner.
It will feature yet more buttons in an overhead panel that houses the button to start up the vehicle (or possibly to enable launch control), as well as controls for the lights and windshield defrost. Between the seats, there’s another panel with the transmission selector, switches for the electric windows, which presumably have been moved away from the driver’s door, giving the passenger the ability to roll all four of them down.
Last year, Ferrari invited us to Maranello to see the chassis, powertrain and batteries going into the Luce. It will have over 1,000 horsepower, charge at 350 kilowatts and deliver around 329 miles (530 km) of WLTP range. Like the most exciting upcoming EVs, including the electric BMW M3, it will have a quad-motor setup allowing for precise torque vectoring for each wheel and the handling should be pretty impressive for a vehicle weighing over 5,000 lbs (2,300 kg).
Ferrari still hasn't revealed the full design of the Luce, though. The company said last year that it will have a three-phase launch of the car, though, and this appears to be phase two. Phase three should be the full reveal, and, per Ferrari, that should come sometime in the second quarter of this year.
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