Controversial electric Ferrari outrages transport minister (and the rest of Italy)

What do Italy’s right-wing Transport Minister Matteo Salvini, former Ferrari boss Luca Cordero di Montezemolo and opposition lawmaker Carlo Calenda have in common?

They all hate the design of the new fully electric Ferrari “Luce” unveiled on Tuesday.

“Electric, extremely expensive (550,000 euros!), and, aesthetically speaking, it speaks for itself … It looks like anything but a [Ferrari] car. And is that supposed to be ‘innovation’? I wonder what Enzo Ferrari would say … ?” Transport Minister Matteo Salvini wrote in a social media post, slamming Ferrari’s latest model.

Salvini’s comments are likely to heighten tensions between the Italian government and the Agnelli-Elkann family, the largest single shareholder in Ferrari and the global carmaker Stellantis.

The controversial Luce — the first Ferrari model to be fully electric and to have five seats — immediately sparked outrage among purists in Italy.

It also didn’t immediately convince investors, with Ferrari’s stock dropping by more than eight percent on Tuesday.

The four-door Ferrari, branded as “the most comfortable Ferrari ever” — hardly an on-brand endorsement for a carmaker synonymous with speed, style and passion — was co-designed by Jony Ive, the former chief design officer at Apple.

Some jokingly noted a resemblance between the new Ferrari, available in an unusual light blue, and the iconic Apple products designed by Ive’s team.

Di Montezemolo, who led Ferrari for over two decades, also slammed the car.

“We risk destroying a legend,” Montezemolo said on Tuesday, arguing that the car does not deserve to display Ferrari’s badge, the famous Prancing Horse.

“At least, this is definitely a car the Chinese won’t imitate,” Montezemolo, who worked with the company’s eponymous founder Enzo Ferrari since he was in his twenties, joked.

Carlo Calenda, a centrist opposition lawmaker, took the opportunity to attack the Elkann-Agnelli family once again, accusing it of undermining Italian industrial jewels like Ferrari.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella was among the first to see the car on Monday, guided by Ferrari president John Elkann, the scion of the Agnelli family.