Ferrari unveils Luce to public in Rome amid backlash over electric debut

Ferrari Luce goes on public display in Rome on 30 May. Italian luxury automaker Ferrari will present its first fully electric car, the Luce, to the public in Rome on Saturday 30 May at the Vela di Calatrava complex in Tor Vergata. The four-door, five-seater Luce, with a €550,000 price tag, was co-designed by Ferrari's Centro Stile and LoveFrom, the creative collective of British designer Sir Jony Ive, best known as Apple's former chief design officer. Powered by four electric motors producing 1,050 horsepower, the Luce reaches 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds and has a top speed of 310 km/h, with first deliveries expected in the fourth quarter of 2026. How to see the Ferrari Luce in Rome The car was unveiled on Monday at the same futuristic venue, and the public event on Saturday is free to attend, with registration required at a dedicated website. The programme runs from 16.30 to 22.30, with a light show inside the structure scheduled for 21.00. Before the public opening, Ferrari carried the Luce on a high-profile tour of Rome's institutionspresenting the car to Italy's president Sergio Mattarella and to Pope Leo XIV. The week of events in the Italian capital coincides with the anniversary of Ferrari's landmark victory of the Grand Prix of Rome, to 25 May 1947, courtesy of driver Franco Cortese. Controversy The Luce has provoked a backlash from investors, politicians and the brand's own former president, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, who warned that the car risked destroying a legendary brand and called for the Prancing Horse logo to be removed from it. Italy's deputy premier and transport minister Matteo Salvini was equally scathing, posting on X that the car looked nothing like a Ferrari and questioning what company founder Enzo Ferrari would make of it. Following the car's launch, the company's shares plunged in Milan and New York before recovering some ground in recent days. Ferrari has positioned the Luce as an addition to its existing thermal and hybrid range rather than a replacement for any current model. It is the first fully electric vehicle to be built entirely at the company's Maranello facility, and, at over five metres in length with seating for five, it marks a significant departure in form from the two-seat sports cars with which the brand made its name. Photo Ferrari