Ferrari Hired The Guy Who Designed The iPod. Here’s What Happened.
Ferrari just revealed the Luce, their first all-electric car. But this isn’t just a Ferrari with a battery. It’s a completely new kind of car, designed from a blank sheet of paper by Jony Ive, the man behind the iPod and iPhone. Five seats, a hatchback, 1,035bhp, and details that have to be seen to be believed. Here’s everything you need to know.
Nobody saw this coming.
Quick question. When you think of Ferrari, what comes to mind? V12. Exhaust note. Probably red. Almost certainly two seats and an engine somewhere behind your head.
Now forget all of that.
So Who Is Jony Ive?
If you’ve ever held an iPhone, you’ve held Jony Ive’s work. He was Apple’s Chief Design Officer for over two decades — the brain behind the iPod, the iMac, the iPhone. Basically, if Apple made something that changed how you interact with technology, there’s a good chance Ive had his hands on it.
When he left Apple he started his own design studio. And Ferrari knocked on the door.
What They Built Together
The Ferrari Luce is Ferrari’s first all-electric car. But calling it just an electric car completely undersells it.
Five seats. A hatchback. 1,035bhp. 330 miles of range. A shape that looks like it came from a completely different planet to every other Ferrari ever made — because in a way, it did. Ferrari gave Ive a blank sheet of paper and basically said: no rules.
And honestly? It shows.
The Bit That Got Me
It’s not the power output that makes the Luce special. It’s the details. The steering wheel is machined from 19 individual parts. The key uses e-ink so Ferrari’s yellow logo transfers to the dashboard when you dock it. The sound — because yes, they had to figure out sound for an electric Ferrari — is captured directly from the drivetrain and amplified like a guitar through an amp.
Someone thought about every single thing on this car. You can feel it.
Is It Actually A Ferrari Though?
That’s the question. And it’s worth a proper conversation rather than a quick answer here.
We got into all of it in the video above — the iPod connection, why this design makes sense, the honest take on whether it actually feels like a Ferrari, and why we think this might be one of the most significant cars in a very long time.
Worth a watch. Promise.