Ferrari is different from other carmakers, and so are its product launches. So revered is the company in its native Italy that among the first people to sit behind the wheel of its first electric vehicle were the country’s president and the pope.
Ferrari did not just decide to make its first electric car. It also took the decision to make that car only its second four-door model, and the first with five seats. Rather than a low-slung, two-door variant of its petrol cars, it has effectively produced a roomy saloon.
Ferrari did not just decide to make its first electric car. It also took the decision to make that car only its second four-door model, and the first with five seats. Rather than a low-slung, two-door variant of its petrol cars, it has effectively produced a roomy saloon.
Ferrari’s chief executive, Benedetto Vigna, has repeatedly said the car is intended to be “polarising”, and that the company is hoping to appeal to people outside its core market – albeit still among the ultra-wealthy.
It is no coincidence that many of the strongest negative reactions to the Ferrari launch have come from those with right-wing leanings. Despite their rapidly increasing popularity across the world, opposition to electric vehicles has become a common reactionary theme.
