Ferrari presented his first electric car in Rome on Tuesday. It is called Light and, already from the basic characteristics, does not look much like the most traditional idea that many have of a Ferrari: not only because it does not have a petrol engine, but also because it is homologated for five people. Ferraris in production are almost always at two places, or at most at four. The price also places it in a very high range: it costs 550 thousand euros, more than all other new purchaseable models, excluding special and limited series, such as the F80 from 3.6 million euros.
The Light is different also for the way it was drawn. The project was entrusted to LoveFrom, the agency founded by Jony Ive, the designer who for many years guided the appearance of Apple products and worked on devices like iPod, MacBook and iPhone. It is an unusual choice for Ferrari, which has a very sedimented tradition even in the design of its cars. The company has, however, specified that the car was built using only components made internally, so that maintenance and repairs remain inside the Ferrari system.
The interiors were described by those who tried the car during the presentation as much closer to those of a large luxury car than to those of a classic sportsman. The Light has five seats, a large trunk, four doors with counter-wind opening and a leather and aluminium cabin. The wheel takes the form that designed by Enrico Nardi for Ferrari in the Fifties and Sixties, but the rest of the setting is more essential than the Ferraris to which the public of the brand is accustomed.
One of the points Ferrari insisted on is acceleration. The managing director Benedetto Vigna said that electric cars can speed up so quickly from “disturbing the brain”, because the drive comes very differently than a traditional engine. This is why the company has worked with experts and medical centers, as well as with NASA, to make the acceleration less sharp for passengers. It is a technical detail, but also serves to explain the type of car Ferrari is trying to build: not only an electric sportsman, but a model designed to be used with more people on board and under less extreme conditions.
The presentation was also expected because every deviation from the classic image of Ferrari is observed with great distrust by fans. The first criticisms had already arrived months ago, when some details of the car were shown, especially the steering wheel and the bridge, judged too far from the tradition of the brand. Now many discussions concern the outside, which some find little and little consistent with the lowest and sinuous lines associated with Ferrari. However, it is not the first time that the company moves away from two-seat sports: the Purosangue, today in production, is an SUV and was the first Ferrari with four doors and four seats.
L’articolo The new Ferrari Luce, between images and different polemics proviene da IlNewyorkese.
