- Ferrari's seriously controversial first-ever EV has made its Australasian debut at an event in Sydney.
- The Ferrari Luce is the brand's first EV, and a radical departure from anything it has done before.
- The Luce will cost easily more than NZ$1 million when it arrives in New Zealand late in 2027.
Ferrari’s controversial first fully electric car has arrived in Australasia, with the new Luce making its local debut at an exclusive VIP event in Sydney overnight.
The Ferrari Luce is priced from AU$991,446 (NZ$1,211,790) before on-road costs (and, of course, personalisation) in Australia, making it one of the most expensive new electric cars on the market and putting it comfortably over the NZ$1 million mark.
The sole Luce currently in Australasia is a left-hand-drive exhibition car, which Ferrari Australasia has brought to the region ahead of the first customer deliveries in Australia and New Zealand in the fourth quarter of 2027.
It was unveiled at Ferrari Australasia’s flagship Sydney showroom, where a select group of media, VIP guests and prospective customers were given an early look at Ferrari’s most radical new model in decades.
The Sydney event featured a bespoke Luce installation showcasing the car's design, interior craftsmanship and technology, with guests including actress Charlee Fraser, wellness personality Tim Robards and entrepreneur and content creator Melizza Jaune.
The Luce will remain on display in Sydney for a limited time before travelling to Brisbane and Melbourne over the next four weeks, giving Ferrari customers and order holders across the east coast an opportunity to see the electric newcomer in person.
The Luce represents a major departure for Ferrari, being not only its first fully electric vehicle but also its first four-door, five-seat production car. Rather than simply electrifying an existing Ferrari sports car, the Luce was developed around a bespoke EV architecture in Maranello, with Ferrari developing its own electric powertrain and battery technology.
The design is the result of a five-year collaboration between Ferrari’s Centro Stile and LoveFrom, the design collective founded by former Apple design chief Sir Jony Ive and Australian designer Marc Newson.
It is consequently unlike anything else in the current Ferrari range, with a dramatically low nose, floating aerodynamic elements, a glass-like cabin and an abrupt Kamm-style rear end. The Luce also has the largest wheels fitted to a production Ferrari, with 23-inch rims at the front and enormous 24-inch wheels at the rear.
The cabin is similarly unconventional, combining physical switches and controls with large digital displays. The absence of a conventional combustion engine and gearbox also means there is no traditional transmission tunnel, helping create enough space for five occupants.
At just over five metres long and almost two metres wide, the Luce is a substantial car - it measures 5026mm in length, 1999mm in width and has a 2961mm wheelbase, while kerb weight is 2260kg.
Underneath its controversial exterior is a seriously potent powertrain - the Luce uses four permanent-magnet synchronous electric motors, one for each wheel, producing a peak 772kW and 990Nm in Launch Control mode. Ferrari's official specifications quote 210kW from the front axle and 620kW from the rear.
That makes the Luce capable of accelerating from 0-100km/h in just 2.5 seconds, while 0-200km/h takes 6.8 seconds, while its top speed is 310km/h. The electric powertrain is backed by an 800V, 122kWh battery, with Ferrari claiming more than 530km of range and a maximum DC charging power of 350kW.
Ferrari has also gone to considerable lengths to make the Luce behave like a Ferrari rather than simply deliver brutal straight-line acceleration.
It features electric all-wheel drive, four-wheel steering and an advanced Vehicle Control Unit that coordinates the powertrain and Ferrari's Side Slip Control X system. The car also uses an active ride-height system and active aerodynamic elements, with Ferrari claiming the Luce has the lowest drag coefficient of any road car it has produced.
The battery forms a structural part of the chassis, while extensive use of aluminium and other lightweight construction techniques helps keep the weight under control. Even so, at 2260kg, the Luce is considerably heavier than Ferrari's combustion-powered sports cars. Ferrari says its low-mounted battery gives the car a centre of gravity 95mm lower than the Purosangue SUV.
The decision to make the first electric Ferrari a spacious five-seat, four-door performance car was very deliberate. Rather than attempting to replicate the proportions and character of a mid-engined Ferrari with batteries and electric motors, Ferrari opted for a larger architecture that could exploit the packaging advantages of an EV.
Even the soundtrack has received the Ferrari treatment - rather than relying solely on a conventional synthesised exhaust note, the Luce uses sensors to capture mechanical vibrations from the powertrain and amplify them through speakers, providing what Ferrari describes as functional feedback to the driver.
The move into electric propulsion has not been without controversy and the Luce's unconventional styling attracted considerable criticism following its global unveiling in May, while Ferrari's decision to produce a large electric four-door has prompted questions about how closely the car fits the marque's traditional identity.
That criticism has apparently done little to dampen demand, however. Ferrari has reportedly accounted for its entire 2026 production allocation, believed to be around 500 cars, with Australian and New Zealand customers among those to have placed orders.
Now, with the first Australasian example sitting in Ferrari's Sydney showroom, potential customers finally have the opportunity to see what all the fuss is about.
The Luce will subsequently head to Brisbane and Melbourne as Ferrari Australasia begins introducing its first EV to customers more than a year before the first local deliveries are due.
