Luce – Engine Icon https://engineicon.com Latest car news and advice blog Tue, 14 Jul 2026 02:07:42 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1 https://engineicon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/cropped-ME_favicon-1-32x32.png Luce – Engine Icon https://engineicon.com 32 32 Mazda Had A Luce Long Before Ferrari, And It Wants Everyone To Know https://engineicon.com/mazda-had-a-luce-long-before-ferrari-and-it-wants-everyone-to-know/ Sun, 31 May 2026 08:34:59 +0000 https://engineicon.com/mazda-had-a-luce-long-before-ferrari-and-it-wants-everyone-to-know/

Mazda VS. Ferrari

In case you missed the news, Mazda and Ferrari are locked in a trademark battle right now. It’s over the use of the name Luce, which Mazda had used first. However, Ferrari claims to own the rights to that nameplate worldwide, but the folks from Hiroshima aren’t giving up without a fight. Mazda still has a claim over Luce in Japan, meaning Ferrari will have to change the name of its EV if Mazda chooses not to budge. So far, it’s looking that way.

Following the reveal of the Italian Luce, the builders of the Japanese Luce have been doubling down on the trolling efforts. Recently, Mazda showed a photo of its first executive sedan on its socials with the caption “Did anyone say Luce?” On top of that, the company published a short comic highlighting its connection to Italian design. So far, Ferrari hasn’t made any rebuttals as it’s still busy defending itself.

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The Car That Started It

The Luce was Mazda’s first foray into the executive car market. It then served as the company’s flagship model from 1966 to 1991. Five generations of the car were made over 25 years. Today, the model holds a special place in Mazda’s history, as it laid the foundation and set the direction of the company, never wavering in its focus on being seen as an innovative and daring automaker.

America did get the Luce, but it came under a different name. It was simply called the 1800, sold in extremely limited numbers, and rarer than hen’s teeth these days. It’s a shame that only a few made it stateside, but then again, it was the ’60s, and the war was still relatively fresh on everyone’s minds. Later export versions of the Luce were called 929.

Mazda

The Mazda-Italy Connection

Mazda’s claim of being inspired by Italian design wasn’t just marketing fluff. It all started in 1960 when Hieyuki Miyakawa and Marisa Bassano crossed paths at the Turin Motor Show. Miyakawa and Bassano, who would later marry, effectively held the key to collaboration between Bertone and Mazda on new designs. The two people they brought together? Tsuneji Matsuda, the president of Mazda at the time, and Giorgetto Giugiaro, a young designer working for Bertone at the time.

The result? Two cars that fused Japanese and Italian design philosophies. The first was the Familia of 1963, and three years later, the Luce in 1966. Giugiaro wasn’t done yet, though, as he followed it up with the Luce Rotary Coupe in 1969. While not penned by the Italian designer, we can see European influences on models such as the Carol kei car and the Cosmo sports coupe.

Mazda

Design Analysis

At first glance, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Luce sedan came from Fiat, Alfa Romeo, or Lancia. The lights and grille are housed in a single shroud, while the long hood lends it a more serious presence. Its tall glasshouse is reminiscent of Italian sedans from the ’60s, while the kink in the rear window is a page out of a certain German automaker based in Munich. At the rear, a simple set of taillights adorns its fascia, and that wraparound windshield is something bean counters would immediately reject today. There was even a wagon version that looked just as good as the sedan.

But it was the Rotary Coupe that looked fantastic. In stark contrast to the sedan, it was lower and sleeker, sharing very little with its more practical sibling. The pillarless doors gave an uninterrupted view out the sides, and all in all, whispered elegance. We’ll admit that we see some shades of the Lancia 2000 Coupe and the Beta Coupe in the two-door Luce, but here’s the thing: The Mazda came first. It’s clean, simple, and unadorned with trinkets that take attention away from its overall design. In other words, it’s the exact opposite of the Ferrari Luce.

Mazda

Mazda


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iPhone moment for Ferrari? Jony Ive designs the radical new all-electric Luce https://engineicon.com/iphone-moment-for-ferrari-jony-ive-designs-the-radical-new-all-electric-luce/ Tue, 26 May 2026 07:15:58 +0000 https://engineicon.com/iphone-moment-for-ferrari-jony-ive-designs-the-radical-new-all-electric-luce/

The famous Italian sports car manufacturer Ferrari has officially entered the electric vehicle market. The company revealed its very first battery-powered production vehicle, the Ferrari Luce, at a launch event in Rome. The new model arrives as a five-door hatchback sedan that offers five seats – a layout that challenges traditional definitions of a Ferrari.

To create the vehicle, Ferrari collaborated with LoveFrom, an independent design firm led by Sir Jony Ive and Marc Newson. This is the first time that Jony Ive, best known for designing iconic consumer electronics like the original Apple iPhone, has styled an automobile. The creative partnership introduces an entirely new look to the brand, blending a minimalist design language with complex packaging solutions required by modern EVs.

iPhone moment for Ferrari? Jony Ive designs the radical new all-electric Luce

The physical dimensions make the Ferrari Luce the largest vehicle the company has ever built. It measures 197.9 inches in length, 78.7 inches in width, and 60.8 inches in height. The wheelbase stretches 116.6 inches. Compared to the Ferrari Purosangue, the Luce is 2.09 inches longer and 1.77 inches lower. The exterior look separates the body into two clear parts: a dark, glassy upper section that sits inside a painted lower shell. Staggered wheels complete the stance, measuring 23 inches at the front and 24 inches at the rear.

Aerodynamic efficiency guided the development process to ensure maximum driving range. Engineers completed two and a half times more digital fluid dynamics calculations than they did for the Purosangue. The body features an integrated front S-duct that guides incoming airflow and shortens the visual appearance of the front nose. Floating front and rear spoilers allow air to glide cleanly between the body layers, while vertical windshield wipers sit tight against the edges of the front glass. These changes give the model the lowest drag coefficient of any road car from Maranello, reducing drag by 25 percent compared to the Amalfi model.

iPhone moment for Ferrari? Jony Ive designs the radical new all-electric Luce

Inside the cabin, the styling team moved away from the digital trends that dominate many modern electric cars. Instead of replacing controls with giant touchscreens, the interior uses traditional physical touchpoints. Drivers interact with heavy, precision-machined aluminum dials, buttons, and switches to adjust basic cabin settings. The three-spoke steering wheel uses 100 percent recycled aluminum with an anodized finish. The instrument panel holds classic mechanical needles along with high-definition digital screens developed by Samsung.

The absence of a mechanical transmission tunnel creates a flat floor, allowing Ferrari to offer its first true five-seat cabin. Passengers access the rear compartment through large, rear-hinged suicide doors. The layout offers plenty of legroom, but the sloping roofline restricts vertical space. Passengers who stand over 180 centimeters or taller will likely touch the ceiling if they lean back against the headrests. Behind the rear seats, the vehicle provides a 21.1 ft³ trunk, which is the largest luggage space ever featured on a Ferrari.

iPhone moment for Ferrari? Jony Ive designs the radical new all-electric Luce

The Luce is built on a custom 800V electric architecture. A 122 kWh battery pack integrates directly into the floorpan to lower the center of gravity by 3.74 inches compared to the Purosangue. Ferrari builds the 1,389 lb pack in-house using lithium-ion pouch cells developed with South Korean supplier SK On. The layout uses 15 modules, including a double-stack underneath the rear passenger seats. The electrical system supports direct-current fast charging up to 350 kW, which can add 70 kWh of energy in 20 minutes. A full charge provides an estimated range of 329 miles.

Four independent electric motors drive the car, giving each individual wheel its own power source. Together, they produce a total output of 830 kW – that’s 1,036 horsepower and 739 lb-ft of torque. The system sends most power to the rear axle, where two large motors make 416 horsepower each and spin up to 25,500 revolutions per minute. The front axle uses two smaller motors that contribute 141 horsepower each and spin up to 30,000 revolutions per minute. The front units automatically disconnect when the vehicle runs in its energy-saving Range mode.

iPhone moment for Ferrari? Jony Ive designs the radical new all-electric Luce

The Luce accelerates from zero to 62 mph in 2.5 seconds, and reaches 124 mph in 6.8 seconds. The maximum top speed is 193 mph. To control the 4,982 lb curb weight, the vehicle uses a double-wishbone suspension setup paired with 48-volt Multimatic TrueActive electronic dampers that eliminate the need for traditional mechanical anti-roll bars by adjusting rapidly to changing road surfaces.

Engineers introduced custom software controls to maintain high driver engagement. The steering column keeps its physical paddles, but instead of mimicking traditional gear changes, the left paddle adjusts regenerative braking across five stages – it can deliver up to 0.33g of stopping force when the driver lifts off the accelerator. The right paddle changes how the system distributes the electric power, giving the driver extra acceleration with each pull.

iPhone moment for Ferrari? Jony Ive designs the radical new all-electric Luce

To provide acoustic feedback, an accelerometer on the rear axle tracks the vibration of the electric motors and amplifies those real sounds into the cabin.

The Ferrari Luce arrives with a high price tag to match its advanced technology. It will cost £469,000 in mainland Europe, with an estimated price of GBP 440,000 for the UK market. Continental deliveries will begin early next year, and right-hand-drive versions will reach the United Kingdom in spring 2027. Ferrari keeps a strict factory cap of roughly 14,000 vehicles per year across its entire lineup, meaning the new model will be highly exclusive.

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