I can’t wrap my head around the fact that Ferrari hired Jony Ive [Apple] to design Elettrica

Can’t wait for the new 296 ProMax with a glossy aluminium body and teal pink interior.
In all seriousness, he did very well designing the interface of ios 7 and onwards, a hair comb and a table, so I trust that he will put good use of his industrial design skills and make a nice car …

wait…. what?

 

Can't get any worse..

 

"It needs to be thinner"!

 

But . . . people have been screaming about how bad the internal design house is for many models now.

 

Yes but I wonder if this is a change for the better. I haven’t seen any news on this so I don’t know exactly what his brief will be. The fact that there’s going to be a Ferrari Elletrica is depressing enough. Ferrari design has never been seen as minimalist, which, to me, is uninspiring. Ferraris should be emotional and dramatic.

I think Ferrari continues its slide into fashion appliances…..

 

One thing about full electric is the ability to move past the traditional ICE packaging standards. It may be that someone from outside the industry can open up the box a bit.

 

I don’t think any other EV manufacturers have changed the basic design formula. Tesla went with the anonymous look and others have followed. I’m not sure….because I don’t know much about it….if the total volume required for full electric motors and batteries is much different from ICEs. Plus, they’re all subject to the same safety and impact standards, which probably leaves little opportunity for departures from basic vehicle architecture.

 

To me Manzoni is simply an Italian DEI hire. His greatest design in my opinion, was in cooperation with Pininfarina. He's not really designed anything from the ground up that has been notable in my opinion. Others will disagree.

There is nothing bizarre about bringing in Ive. Perhaps you didn't know that Pininfarina designed a hell of a lot more than just cars. From AI:

Yes, Pininfarina designs extend far beyond just cars. Since the 1980s, the company has been involved in the design of buses, trains, yachts, private jets, and even everyday items like cooking utensils and the Olympic torch for the 2006 Turin Games. They also design interiors and exteriors for various forms of mobility and transportation, including people movers, professional vehicles, and two-wheelers.

Here's some kitchenware they design.
https://www.stile-mepra.com/

Designers are prolific in many fields. Look at what famed Italian car designer Giorgetto Giugiaro designed:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgetto_Giugiaro

Designers are often good across many forms of industrial design and aren't limited to just one discipline. Manzoni isn't one of them in my opinion.

 

It will be the most beautiful, thinnest, powerful , fastest and longest lasting Ferrari ever built

just like every product apple ever produced

 

.... and whatever complaints there are, are the owners' fault for using it wrong.

 

….and if the hood is opened outside of an official Ferrari service center the vehicle will be rendered useless.

 

'and others have followed'
We can say that about damned near every small/mid-size car, there was a Mercedes whose body was a
dead-copy of a 2008 Honda Accord (or vice' verse'), and if you were to debadge many of the Kia/Hyundai/Nissan/Mazda/Honda cars
I don't know if you can tell them apart. Toss in the Chevy 'Impala' with those, too.

 

I’m excited they’re bringing in an outsider to totally reimagine a model.

Worst case is it sucks - and the world keeps spinning.

Best case is it’s revolutionary.

Bring it on!

Kevin

 

I'll take Ive over Manzoni all day and everyday. Ive has at least created designs from his own mind that have been hugely successful. Ive designs have created more value for his company than Pininfarina and Manzoni combined. Ferrari knows the current designs are pure garbage and they are smart enough to make a pivot. Manzoni needs to be kicked to the curb.

 

My point is that I’m not sure that merely designing for an EV rather than an ICE platform presents an opportunity for design innovations. If so one of the (too) many EV manufacturers would have taken advantage by now. After all, they’re all eager to differentiate their products.

I expect Ive’s designs to be similar to the recent Jaguar atrocities; no detail or surfaces interest,, no compound curves to speak of, etc.

I’d like to know Jon’s @jm2 thoughts.

 

What I don't get is Chevy pulled the VOLT, Honda had a really nice EV or Hybrid 20 years ago,
looked like a rounded-off Civic, GM had the EV1 car that they 'took back' from everyone and
destroyed all but two - and nobody ever found out the real reason they did that.
Remember - Ed Begley Jr had one he wouldn't give up, GM had to sue him...

I still say, 80% of all driving is within 25 miles of ones' home, and an EV is fine for that,
but it can't be your ONLY car, and it can't cost over about 30K.

PS, and now, today, with skyrocketing Insurance rates, some cannot afford two cars, especially
if you are single or retired. A few years ago full coverage on my Honda was $550/year, and today
liability-only is $680.

 

Ive never been a fan of Ives. Im just not into that sterile, minimalist design sense.

 

For a device like a cell phone it works. For a car it does not. Here is the crux of the matter. Big tech wants to make the car a disposable device and car guys see the automobile as functioning art. This is the conflict of philosophy. We’ll see where the FerrarIve lands aesthetically.

 

It will not be a car, it will be a revolution...

 

Anyone other than the inhouse design team is a step up in my opinion.

 

Well thank you for considering my opinion which as they say isn't worth much, but I have several thoughts on the topic.

Jonny Ive + Marc Newson designing an electric Ferrari huh? I group that with Lewis Hamilton's desire to design a 'reimagined' F40, although Ive & Newson are professional designers with great track records, and Mr. Hamilton?

The over 100 year history of Automotive Design is littered with various Industrial Designers designing cars. Norman Bel Geddes, Raymond Loewy, Brooks Stevens just to name a few. I have the utmost respect for Ives & Newson. They have done some successful designs.
Whether we like or dislike Mr. Newson's attempt is neither here nor there as far as I'm concerned.https://marc-newson.com/ford-021c-concept-car/
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It is what it is and is a solution for a design brief.

I certainly encourage Ferrari to explore "outside' design input. Who makes the final call is critical.

Having been involved with competing with Pininfarina many years ago, these competitions don't always go as planned.
https://driventowrite.com/2025/04/17/john-manoogianii-memoir-gm-design-part-twelve-2/#more-126375

Designing a production automobile is one of the most complex Industrial/Product Design projects there is. Safety, government regulations, manufacturing constraints, engineering constraints, aerodynamic concerns, costs, etc. all play a major role in determining the final appearance.

Just because Ive has done an outstanding job designing Apple products however, doesn't necessarily mean that translates into automotive design success.
I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and wait and see what happens. No guarantee of success, but it will be fun to watch.

 

Wasn’t Apple building a car at one point?

 

Thanks, John. Your opinion is worth a lot!

You made the point that I somehow missed. Using a sports analogy, being good at swimming the butterfly doesn’t necessarily make one good at holing a 60’ putt or tending goal.

Newson and Ive are successful in making clever designs, but are they good at doing beautiful designs? As I said before, Ferraris should be dramatic and emotional, not necessarily efficient and rational. They aren’t appliances……or least they shouldn’t be.