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Today, we’re getting a look at one of the, if not the most controversial machine to ever roll out of Maranello: The Ferrari Luce. It’s not the entire tortellini, mind you. Despite being in the works for several years, Ferrari only revealed a photo of the Luce’s cockpit ahead of a full reveal in May. Specifically, its steering wheel, gauge cluster, dash, and center console.
To craft an innovative cabin and deliver a unique experience, Ferrari tasked the former head of design at Apple, Jony Ive, and his partner, Marc Newson. Once upon a time, Ive delivered some of the most representative pieces of tech: the iMac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. It’s more than fair to say that he and Newson’s new firm, LoveFrom, know a thing or two about how people interact with tech and how design affects the overall experience. It’s those credentials that allow them to comment on things like the oversized, all-inclusive screens found in most cars today, a trend started by Tesla.
Ferrari
When reminded of a comment he previously made about his “soul dying a bit” when getting into a car with a “big screen in the middle,” Ive said the following:
“Yeah, I think a large touchscreen practically, functionally, doesn’t work. That’s incontrovertible. You have to look [at it], which you shouldn’t be. You’ve designed [something that’s] layers and layers deep,” Ive told The Drive editor-in-chief Kyle Cheromcha during a media roundtable organized by Ferrari.
“Esoterically, you can say, ‘I’d rather not be reminded of working.’ I mean, I find that easy and lazy, and it was treated like fashion. It was just, ‘Oh, this is synonymous. Multitouch is synonymous with an advanced product.’
“It served a purpose when we developed it, but we were very clear about why we developed it for the products we did. And the inside of a car is such a challenging and different environment,” Ive added.
A possible solution to counter the trend of a single massive screen that controls everything—in some cases, even the positioning of the air vents—is to use many small screens rather than one main one. This way, the displays feel more integral to the driving experience. When asked about this, Ive and Newson explained that big screens had a sort of unwarranted, uncalled nature, at least when it came to their role in controlling a car’s functions.
“You’ve still got to be judicious,” Newson told The Drive. “A big screen is kind of gratuitous, really. Undertaking consequences.”
Ferrari
Meanwhile, Ive has gone as far as saying that he’s troubled by the very fact that his creation, multi-touch screens, has been used in many applications, many of them irresponsibly.
“It’s very correct [that I’m troubled by this],” Ive told the media. “When we were working on it, it was very clear that it was going to be a very powerful tool. Powerful tools need frameworks and structures to understand how to use them responsibly, and things move so fast now that I don’t think those frameworks were developed.
“I think the tough thing is if you innovate, there will be unintended consequences. So it’s one of the reasons I’m not with the old company, and it’s one of the reasons I’m doing what I’m doing now. I take it very, very seriously,” Ive addded.
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As deputy editor, Jerry draws on a decade of industry experience and a lifelong passion for motorsports to guide The Drive’s short- and long-term coverage.
