Ferrari Luce backlash is making the brand's classics more valuable

Ferrari's first electric model, the Luce, drew a storm of online criticism after its unveiling. The brand inspires near-religious devotion, and the radically different design of an EV prompted fierce reactions from people who feel a deep emotional connection to what Ferrari has long represented.

I have been driving Ferraris for 25 years. My first was a red 328 GTB bought with my first severance pay, and today four black Ferraris sit in my garage. Those cars bring me joy in a way few things do; as Enzo Ferrari put it, "with Ferrari, you're really just buying the engine — and getting the rest of the car for free." That belief helps explain why the Luce has struck so many as unfamiliar.

The Luce embraces a digital aesthetic that eschews the vibrating, analogue heart of Lampredi and Colombo engines. Designers Marc Newson and Jony Ive chose not to hide the electric innards behind nostalgic forms, producing a shape some liken to a Flintstones or Playmobil toy and a logo that is embossed rather than proudly displayed.

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