Why Ferrari’s Luce Stirred Up San Francisco Streets

Midday in the Financial District, a pale blue Ferrari glided past the Russ Building and stopped people in their tracks. Phones came up. Conversations paused. This was not a parade float or a movie prop. It was the Luce, Ferrari's first electric model, uncamouflaged and on the move in public for the first time.

When Maranello Meets Market Street

The crew had cleared active lanes and rigged a second car with camera gear. Then they ran the Luce through a choreography of hard pulls and fast pass-bys along Davis Street, Sacramento Street, and the corner of Sansome and California. Short bursts of acceleration. Repeated takes. Raw footage meant for a reveal, shot in broad daylight among office towers and tourist crowds.

Design details jump out even in clips: a light Azzurro La Plata finish, glossy pillars, a black roof that frames the car like sunglasses. Ferrari says there are 35 paint choices across four families: Standard, Heritage, Classic, and Special. Azzurro La Plata sits in Special, which makes sense. The Luce wants to be noticed.

Yet notice it did for different reasons. Social feeds filled within hours. Some viewers praised the clean surfaces and proportions. Others went straight to ridicule, calling it an 'iPhone on wheels' or the 'Apple car with a Ferrari badge.' The bluntest nickname: 'Ferrari Multipla,' a reference meant to sting.

That sting has a pedigree. The Luce's aesthetic comes from a rare collaboration: Sir Jony Ive and Marc Newson alongside Ferrari's Maranello studio. High-profile names. Design language that aims to merge minimalism with performance cues. Intent and reception diverge. That happens when a brand crosses a line people have long associated with combustion-era flamboyance into a quieter, electric future.

And the story doesn't end at styling. Behind the scenes, Ferrari shuffled leadership. Longtime chief marketing officer Enrico Galliera parted ways, replaced by Massimiliano Di Silvestre, who arrives with years at BMW Group Italy. His task is clear: temper the outrage and turn curiosity into orders.

Orders are already telling their own tale. CEO Benedetto Vigna reports 'strong interest' from both new and existing customers. All 88 units allocated to the Chinese market were reserved quickly. Critics can keyboard-argue. Buyers speak with deposits and contracts.

So what should we take from a few high-speed runs through San Francisco? That a car can look very different on a screen than it does in sunlight. That design choices will always divide opinion when a storied marque reinvents itself. And that, whether dismissed as a design misstep or hailed as a brave pivot, the Luce is doing what it needed to do: it is getting everyone to look.