Ferrari Luce
- Theodoros Ploiarchopoulos
- Jun 4
- 2 min read
Ferrari Luce.
A five-year project, with a typical development cost of approximately $4 billion.
And an additional $4.5 billion wiped from its market value overnight.
A controversial design, with rumours claiming it was developed alongside a Chinese manufacturer.
And just like that, the launch of a new product appears to hurt the reputation of a 97 year-old company.
If you take a second glance at the story, however, the truth is somewhat different.
First and foremost, it was not developed with a Chinese manufacturer. It was designed in collaboration with Sir Jony Ive (former Chief Designer at Apple) and Marc Newson through the LoveFrom agency. The confusion arose because Ferrari, through this model (and as explicitly stated by its leadership) is targeting the younger demographic in China in an attempt to regain market share.
Second, Ferrari did lose $4.5 billion in market value overnight. However, a 97 year-old organization, with uninterrupted participation in Formula 1 since 1950 and a portfolio of iconic products, is not judged on an “overnight” basis.
The reality is that Ferrari’s share price, after reaching a low of $167.30 on 17/06/2022, climbed to a peak of $482.10 on 21/02/2025 (+188.16%). Yesterday, it closed at $298.60 (still approximately +79% from its lowest point, despite being -38% from its peak). I would very much classify this as a hiccup rather than a collapse.
Third, Ferrari’s leadership team remains in place, without any major developments so far, other than the obvious need to publicly support the project, whereas in previous cases, the product largely spoke for itself.
All in all, financially, this is a hiccup that Ferrari will likely overcome relatively unharmed.
The design itself is, at best, debatable; at average, controversial; and at worst, bordering on ridiculous or absurd.
Ferrari’s reputation has indeed suffered a scar, but there is always time to recover. (Preferably quickly)
As for the design agency, even without knowing the full brief, there remains a responsibility to respect the identity of the brand, or decline the project altogether. Visibly shifting toward purely Far Eastern cultural and aesthetic references for such an iconic car manufacturer can only damage both the company and the agency itself.
As for Ferrari’s management, I genuinely struggle to understand the thinking behind this decision.
All I can say is that Ford has remained in the market since 1903 by honouring its history, reputation, and devotion to its principles.
Last but not least, nobody can ignore Luca Di Montezemolo's quotes:
"If I were to say what I really think, it would be unpleasant... We risk destroying a legend, which saddens me greatly. I hope that they at least remove the Prancing Horse emblem from that car."
&
"Luce is certainly a car that at least the Chinese won't copy."
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