First electric Ferrari 'Luce' brings in $40 million at auction

The first production vehicle of the E-Ferrari sparks heated debates that even have an impact on the stock market. The first Luce brings in a multiple of the actual selling price at auction. The very first electric Ferrari, which became the Italian sports car maker's most controversial model this year, fetched $40 million (around €34.5 million) at auction. All proceeds from the auction on the sidelines of the car show in Pebble Beach, California, will go to the charitable Ferrari Foundation.

The Ferrari Luce model vehicle has chassis number 0, making it the first production vehicle in the series. Aside from being a one-of-a-kind, the $40 million is considered a record for a new car. The Luce, priced from 550,000 euros, was presented in May and quickly caused heated debates. Above all, the design was criticized, as it deviates greatly from the typical look of Ferrari sports cars. The criticism on the Internet initially caused the traditional company's share price to plummet, but the price is now significantly higher than before the Luce was introduced.

Despite the criticism, Ferrari sees “healthy demand” among wealthy customers for the electric model. According to the "Financial Times", this year's Luce sales target of around 500 vehicles was reached at the beginning of July. Ferrari got support for the Luce from former Apple design chief Jony Ive, who, among other things, shaped the look of iPhones and Mac computers for years. Ive designed a mix of digital and analogue controls in the interior of the electric Ferrari. The iPhone company had been working on an electric car for years, but finally gave up on the project after spending billions.