Ferrari Luce, for those who were told to wait

The most interesting Ferrari of the decade has no engine sound. And it is already gone.

This month, during the presentation of Ferrari's third quarter results, chief executive Benedetto Vigna confirmed that production of the Ferrari Luce planned for 2026 and 2027 is fully allocated. The first cars reach clients before the end of this year. In other words, if you did not have a conversation with your dealer months ago, you are now in the queue for 2028.

Luce is Ferrari's first fully electric car. The name means "light" in Italian, and I think it is the most honest name Ferrari has chosen in years.

Why a watch collector cares about this car

I will admit it. I came to the Luce through the interior, not the drivetrain.

Ferrari designed the cabin with LoveFrom, the creative collective founded by Jony Ive and Marc Newson, after five years of work together. Ive is the designer behind the iPhone. Newson has designed everything from furniture to watches. You can feel both of them in this car.

The steering wheel has three spokes and is inspired by the wooden Nardi wheels of the 1950s and 1960s. It is made from 19 CNC machined parts in recycled aluminium, and it weighs 400 grams less than a standard Ferrari wheel.

The key is a small piece of Corning Fusion5 glass with an E Ink display. When you place it in its dock, the display switches from yellow to black and the cabin lights up in a choreographed sequence. It is a ritual, and rituals are what luxury is made of.

A clock in the centre of the car

Then there is the detail that won me over. In the middle of the dashboard sits a display Ferrari calls the "Multigraph". It works as a clock, a chronograph, a compass and a launch control timer. Three hands, each with its own motor, on a real dial.

Behind the wheel, the instrument binnacle uses two overlapping OLED displays made with Samsung, which gives the graphics real depth. But the analogue dial in the centre is the part that will age well. Screens date. Dials do not.

Where Ferrari comes from

Enzo Ferrari was a racing driver and a team manager for Alfa Romeo before he built a car under his own name. The first Ferrari, the 125 S, ran in 1947 in Maranello. For almost eighty years since, the brand has been defined by sound, the twelve cylinders at the front of the most famous Ferraris ever made.

That is why the Luce matters. A brand defined by sound has made a car defined by light, and the clients have already said yes.

Curious facts

• Luce production for 2026 and 2027 is allocated before most people have seen one on the road.
• The steering wheel uses 19 separate aluminium parts, all CNC machined.
• The key is made of Corning Fusion5 glass, with an E Ink screen.
• Inside the Multigraph is a working chronograph. Ferrari has quietly built a watch into a car.
• According to Ferrari, the Luce is attracting new markets and a new profile of client.

Where to see Ferrari in Portugal

The official Ferrari dealer in Portugal is FBO Motor Sports. In Lisbon the showroom is at Rua Artilharia Um 105A, a few minutes from Amoreiras. In the north, FBO is at Avenida Dom Afonso Henriques 1406, in Matosinhos. If you want to see a Luce before 2028, these are the people to call. I would not wait for an invitation.

My take

I grew up believing a Ferrari had to be heard before it was seen. I still believe it. But the Luce is not trying to replace the V12. It is trying to be something else: quiet, precise, built around the people inside it.

What fascinates me is that Ferrari, a company that could have filled the cabin with screens, chose to put a dial in the middle. A clock, three hands, a chronograph. That is a watchmaker's decision.

For those who were told to wait, the wait is part of the car.