Luce sales point to the power of divisive design

Innate business analysis is not usually our bag but Ferrari’s earnings for the second quarter of 2026 made for an interesting read.

Amid media reports that allege the Luce has sold out (there is no firm evidence) we now know that the polarising new EV has contributed to Ferrari’s coffers just as the company hoped it would.

CEO Benedetto Vigna noted in a call with analysts on 4 August that company order books are already full for 2027, but asked of Luce sales multiple times, he sidestepped a direct answer: “We are proceeding as planned in all the models that we are producing or will start to produce… We are very satisfied because things are going as planned, and the customer understands the Luce is like any other Ferrari.”

This is a car that has stirred plenty of emotion – good and bad – across the industry and beyond. Its curious body-within-a-body exterior, plunging cowl and Cuptertino influences all grabbing observers by the throat. But ‘emotion’ is in line with the company vernacular. In his brief opening gambit, Vigna used the word seven times and dedicated half of his prepared remarks to the Luce. Note the emphasis in this early statement:

“The Luce […] represents a milestone in the history of the Prancing Horse, a true sports car and an addition – I repeat, an addition – to our product portfolio. It is a statement of innovation and design, a car conceived to be forward-looking in every respect.” Orders for the Luce, he says, have come from both “repeaters” and new clients but again the company is tight lipped on official figures and Vigna eventually conceded that “we do[will] not disclose the number.”

“The new clients of the Luce all have two eyes, two ears, two hands… There is not a clear pattern. The common factor is their passion for the brand and that they like to drive electric cars"

If perpetuated online hearsay is to be believed, sales of the Luce were limited to 500 units worldwide. This would certainly fall in line with CEO Vigna’s mantra for “scarcity and exclusivity” which was repeated several times during the call; by that metric the Luce would be rarer than the F80 hypercar (799 units). If all Luces have indeed been allocated, it shows that while good design and affordability is important to the masses, divisive design (at any cost) is what matters in the ultra-luxury space.

“We have a client in the order book of Luce that never bought a Ferrari in their life,” notes Vigna, “and they are buying Luce because finally, Ferrari is also able to provide a car that they [would] like to drive.”

Any new product from a brand with Ferrari’s cachet is likely destined for success, if only for the fact it is new and different. Much of the Luce's interest has apparently been unofficially attributed to the Chinese market, which has of course prompted commentary around homogeneous design. But don’t forget both the luxury and EV sectors are booming in China, and the Luce ticks both those boxes. Vigna noted in the call that there is in fact no single market spiking Luce sales.

“The new clients of the Luce all have two eyes, two ears, two hands… There is not a clear pattern of age or geography,” he explained. “The common factor is that they like to drive electric cars and are very acquainted with electric cars. But when you think about our clients, think about unique people. The common factor is the passion they have for our brand, the willingness to have unique driving experience.”

This week’s earnings call is evidence that diverging from both industry and company norms can bring success. At least in the short term

But the following line perhaps best sums up the two prongs of customer interest: “One side is the willingness to drive a new kind of car; the other is the level of innovation we have brought.”

Divisive design can work, particularly when it is flanked by underlying innovation. We saw similar themes with the Cybertruck, which of course sits in a completely different market to the Luce but is still a premium product that shocked the pick-up market. Some loved it, many hated it, and for those confident owners it became a sceptre for non-conformity. Buyers seemingly paid up to be different, and around 39,000 units left Tesla doors in the first year. Shock and awe tactics paid off at first, but sales have fallen off a cliff since then.

At a professional level, senior design directors seemed to appreciate the brutality of the Cybertruck and its divergence from the norm, as evidenced by its points tally in Car Design Review 11: it took second place just behind the much-loved and multi-award-winning Renault 5 revamp.

We have seen similar themes for decades. When the Porsche Cayenne launched in 2002 the idea of a bulky SUV in the Weissach portfolio created uproar, and press at the time described it as “aesthetically challenged.” That car would ultimately save the company and sold in throngs – 20,000 in year one and 40,000 the following year, massively ahead of it 25,000 projections – and was a commercial home run.

More recently we just covered the SE Perfomante version of the Lamborghini Urus, an SUV that none of the purists wanted nearly 15 years ago but has since become a moniker of its own right, just like the Miura, Countach or Aventador. Oh, and it’s a hybrid too. We are yet to see if the Jaguar Type 01 will follow suit and bring the company green arrows, having faced its fair share of furore in the build up. But that too sits in a similar bracket to the Luce.

Compared to things like the Cayenne and Urus, the Luce has a slightly different narrative. Not only is it unexpected in form but also in propulsion and user experience – polarising factors for any brand let alone a Ferrari – but the admissions in this week’s earnings call are evidence that diverging from both industry and company norms can bring success. At least in the short term. As for the Luce’s long-term legacy and potential damage to brand value, it is anyone’s guess.