$40 million for a Ferrari Luce. Sounds like a joke, right? And yet that is exactly what was paid at the RM Sotheby’s auction in Monterey for Chassis 0 — the first production example of Ferrari’s first fully electric car.
And of course, the internet immediately started asking: what the fuck is going on here?
Because Luce isn’t a V12. It isn’t the classic, low-slung supercar we’ve come to associate with Ferrari. It doesn’t have all the things that have shaped our idea of what a Ferrari should be for decades.
But there is one thing you simply cannot ignore:
this is the first Ferrari of its kind in history.
And honestly, it doesn’t matter whether you like the way it looks.
It’s a Ferrari.
The first electric Ferrari.
The first car in a completely new chapter for the brand.
And that’s why the $40 million shouldn’t be seen as the “price of a Luce.” It’s the price of owning a unique piece of Ferrari history. The car offered by RM Sotheby’s was identified as Chassis 0 and was prepared through Ferrari’s Tailor Made programme. Someone didn’t simply buy another car from Maranello. They bought the first example of a car that, in ten, twenty or thirty years, could become one of the most significant models in Ferrari’s history.
Is it a lot?
Fuck yes.
But this is exactly where you see the power of the Ferrari brand.
Because try finding another manufacturer that can introduce a completely new model, before the car has even properly reached customers, and then sell its very first example for $40 million.
That is not a normal situation in the automotive market.
That is brand power.
But there’s another number that is much more interesting.
Almost 500 cars.
That’s roughly how many Luce models Ferrari expected to sell during 2026. And that allocation was reportedly reached within around two months of the car’s launch.
Even more interesting, the Chinese market played a huge role in that demand.
And this is exactly why Ferrari needs to be viewed differently than simply through the lens of huge V12 engines.
Because Ferrari isn’t a company created to satisfy people commenting about cars on the internet.
Ferrari exists to make money.
And if someone in Maranello sees a group of customers — particularly in China — willing to buy an electric Ferrari for serious money, the most important question for the company isn’t:
“Will the purists like it?”
It’s:
“How many can we sell, and how much money can we make?”
And this is where things get really interesting.
China has a different automotive culture. Technology, luxury, electrification and even the definition of status are perceived differently. For some Chinese customers, the latest technology can be a stronger symbol of status than a huge combustion engine.
Ferrari clearly understands that.
And perhaps that is exactly why Luce exists.
Not to replace the V12.
Not to convince an 812 owner to switch to an electric car.
But to open Ferrari up to an entirely new group of customers.
Did Ferrari do this deliberately?
In my opinion — absolutely.
It’s hard to believe that a brand with such precise control over its image accidentally created a car that has generated huge controversy in the West while simultaneously finding customers so quickly in one of the most important markets for luxury brands.
And maybe that is the biggest lesson from Luce.
The market doesn’t give a fuck about our nostalgic ideas of what a Ferrari should be.
If customers want an electric Ferrari — Ferrari will sell them one.
And if Ferrari can do it with the right margins, maintain exclusivity and attract a new generation of customers at the same time?
That matters far more to the people running Maranello than whether someone on a forum says that a “real Ferrari must have a V12.”
Because ultimately, the commenters don’t decide Ferrari’s future. The market does.
And the market has just shown that there is demand for Luce.
And honestly, that might be the most interesting part of the entire story.
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