All going to plan despite criticism: Ferrari has sold out this year's entire run of the Luce

The Ferrari electric car Luce, criticised by fans for its design, has turned out not to be as commercially poor as many had thought. In the two months since its premiere, the entire production run of the Ferrari Luce planned for this year has sold out — just under 500 units. Of those, 88 were sold in China.

The Ferrari Luce premiered on 25 May. The first electric car from the Scuderia turned out to be a large liftback with fairly unremarkable technical specifications for its class and a design very atypical of Ferrari, which many fans of the Italian marque subjected to ostracism. The reason is that the design of the Luce was entrusted to the Californian studio LoveFrom, led by Jony Ive, who created the modern style of Apple gadgets. And while the interior of the Luce genuinely lays claim to being revolutionary and worthy of imitation, the exterior is, frankly, an acquired taste.

For Ferrari, the cold reception of the Luce across the internet proved an unpleasant and unexpected fact; it negatively affected the company's share price. But Ferrari's customers are not hype-driven internet bloggers and their followers, but rather aristocrats and wealthy motoring enthusiasts from around the world who are modest in terms of public activity, and for whom the opinion of the crowd means nothing.

Of course, even among Ferrari's target audience there are plenty who are not thrilled by the Luce's design, but nonetheless, as the Financial Times reported citing informed sources, the entire production run of the Luce for this year has already sold out — just under 500 units. Of this year's run, 88 Ferrari Luce examples are destined for China and were snapped up by local collectors within just 72 hours of sales commencing.

The so-called "zero" example of the Luce in an exclusive white colour will be sold on 15 August at an RM Sotheby's auction, with the proceeds going to charity.

According to the Financial Times, Ferrari expects to sell around 2,500 examples of the Luce by 2030 and, in all likelihood, it will succeed.

Bloomberg reported in June that Ferrari is effectively selling its first electric car as a sweetener: customers who order a Luce receive in return priority in the queue for the most sought-after petrol models and access to limited-edition sports cars. Ferrari subsequently denied this information.

For the record, the Ferrari Luce is equipped with a four-motor powertrain with a maximum combined output of 772 kW (1,050 hp) and 990 Nm, accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds, with a top speed of 310 km/h, a battery capacity of 122 kWh, and a range of 530 km on a single charge under the WLTP cycle. In Europe, the Luce starts at €550,000, while in the US the starting price will be around $645,000.