Op-Ed: Ferrari's EV Is a Needed 'Misfit'

Ferrari's newest creation looks nothing like the brand's legendary sports cars, which is why Ferrari fans hate it and why MIT professor and designer Carlo Ratti loves it. In a New York Times opinion piece, Ratti notes that the Luce—a $640,000 electric five-seater—has triggered what Ratti describes as near-open revolt among die-hard Ferrari supporters, who say it resembles everything from a Prius to a generic Chinese EV. A former Ferrari chairman even warned that the company is "risking the destruction of a legend."

Ratti counters that this kind of backlash has long accompanied design leaps that later reshaped industries. He points to past "ugly ducklings" like Chrysler's Airflow of 1934 and Fiat's experimental VSS minivan of 1981 as examples, and even wonders if Tesla's "ungodly" Cybertruck might also pave the way for something better. With electrification and autonomy set to upend everything from car proportions to how we use vehicles, he argues that Ferrari's willingness to abandon familiar styling is exactly what's needed. Read his full case that the Luce is a necessary "misfit."