It doesn’t look like a Ferrari, it won’t sound like a Ferrari, it’s not powered like a Ferrari, but this is the start of a new chapter in the history of the most storied car brand of them all. This is the Ferrari Luce, the first all-electric model to come from the Maranello car maker and set to appeal to a whole new generation of Ferrari fans, turned on by the tech and design by iPhone designer Jony Ive and his fellow former Apple pal Marc Newson.Unveiled in Rome, the Luce is Ferrari’s boldest break from tradition yet: a four-door, five-seat electric car with four motors, one for each wheel, a huge 122kWh battery and as much as 1,036bhp when its Launch Control system is called into action.It is also the first Ferrari to be designed around electric power from the beginning, rather than using batteries and motors alongside one of the company’s famous engines. Ferrari says that does not mean the end of petrol or hybrid models, with the Luce joining them as part of a range offering customers more choice.The Ferrari Luce is the brand's first four-door five-seat electric car (Ferrari)The setting for its arrival was deliberately chosen. Ferrari revealed the Luce at the Vela di Calatrava – Città dello Sport in Rome, 79 years to the day after the company took its first ever motorsport win, when Franco Cortese drove the Ferrari 125 S to victory in the 1947 Gran Premio di Roma.This time, though, the noise coming from a new Ferrari will be very different. Rather than trying to pretend its electric car has a V8 or V12 engine under the bonnet, Ferrari has developed a system that takes the real vibrations from the Luce’s electric motors and amplifies them. A sensor in the rear axle picks up the sound made by the motors and gears, with Ferrari comparing the process to the way an electric guitar is amplified.The result, the company says, is an authentic noise rather than a computer-created soundtrack. The driver can choose how much of it they want to hear using the car’s e-Manettino driving mode controller, from quiet progress in Range mode to a much more expressive sound in its most performance-focused setting.The new Ferrari Luce promises a range of more than 329 miles and 0-62mph in 2.5 seconds (Ferrari)The Luce’s styling is just as big a departure. Ferrari handed the project to LoveFrom, the creative collective led by Sir Jony Ive and Marc Newson, rather than starting the design inside its own studio. LoveFrom then worked alongside Ferrari’s design team, led by Flavio Manzoni, to turn the original idea into a production car.The result is a smooth, glass-heavy shape with what Ferrari describes as a shell-like passenger compartment, surrounded by floating aerodynamic elements at the front and rear. The transparent front and rear light panels are designed to almost disappear when they are switched off, while the circular rear lights are intended to echo the Ferrari 360 Modena and 458 Italia.It certainly will not be mistaken for any other Ferrari. It has enormous wheels, measuring 23 inches at the front and 24 inches at the rear, the biggest staggered wheel sizes ever fitted to a series-production Ferrari road car. There are two wheel designs, including a traditional five-spoke and a turbine-style version developed to help the Luce slip through the air more efficiently.Five launch colours have been announced, including Giallo Luce, a specially developed yellow inspired by the colour used in Ferrari’s badge.Inside, the Luce is every bit as unusual. It is only Ferrari’s second four-door car, after the Purosangue, but becomes the first Ferrari road car with five proper seats. Removing the need for a traditional engine, gearbox and central tunnel has allowed Ferrari to open up far more room for passengers, with a 597-litre boot adding to the family-friendly feel.The Luce is Ferrari's first five-seat family-friendly car with a 597-litre boot (Ferrari)The Ive and Newson influence is clearest in the cabin, where the aim appears to have been to keep the high-tech feeling without turning the whole car into one giant touchscreen. There are physical buttons for the climate control, toggles and dials on the steering wheel, a mechanical-looking instrument display and a central screen that can be angled towards the driver or front passenger.The three-spoke steering wheel is machined from recycled aluminium and houses Ferrari’s familiar Manettino drive mode controller, alongside a new e-Manettino switch for choosing power and range settings. There are also paddles behind the wheel, but not for changing gear. Instead, the right-hand paddle lets the driver increase the amount of power available in stages, while the left-hand paddle adjusts the level of regenerative braking and energy recovery employed by the four motors.The key fob is a piece of toughened glass with a colour E Ink display, and when placed into the centre console the car starts up and the gear selector is unlocked. During this process the yellow colour of the key appears to shift to another E Ink display on the gear selector, in a bit of theatre that’s supposed to suggest how power has shifted from the key to the car. There are four OLED display panels developed with Samsung Display, including screens for the driver, centre console and rear passengers.The Ferrari Luce interior is where the Apple influence is most likely to be seen (Ferrari)Ferrari has not forgotten the stereo, either. The Luce gets a 21-speaker audio system with 3,000W of amplification, along with five sound settings ranging from Studio and Concerto to Opera and Electronic.Underneath, however, is where the really big change has happened. Ferrari has built the Luce around a dedicated electric platform, with a motor at each wheel and a battery pack mounted low in the floor and beneath the rear seats. The company says the car’s centre of gravity is 95mm lower than the Purosangue’s, despite the Luce weighing a substantial 2,260kg.Performance is still firmly in Ferrari territory. With Launch Control activated, the four electric motors deliver up to 1,036bhp, pushing the Luce from 0-62mph in 2.5 seconds and from 0-124mph in 6.8 seconds. Its top speed is 193mph.The Luce is also available in a new yellow inspired by the Ferrari badge (Ferrari)The 122kWh battery has been designed, tested and built in Maranello, although the individual battery cells were co-developed with SK On. Ferrari estimates a range of more than 329 miles, although that figure is still awaiting official approval. Charging speeds of up to 350kW mean it can add 70kWh of energy in 20 minutes using a suitable rapid charger.Three driving settings are available through the e-Manettino. Range mode limits output to 429bhp, mainly uses the rear motors and restricts top speed to 162mph. Tour mode lifts power to 617bhp and keeps all-wheel drive active, while Performance mode opens the door to 972bhp in regular use, with the total 1,036bhp arriving for full-bore launches.Ferrari says the car can send power to each wheel independently, while its active suspension and four-wheel steering work together to make the Luce feel agile despite its size and weight. It also claims the car has the lowest aerodynamic drag of any Ferrari road car yet built, helped by its smooth shape, active cooling grilles and suspension that can lower the nose by 10mm at speed.The Luce's key is a piece of toughened glass with an E Ink display that changes colour (Ferrari)It is quieter, too, with Ferrari calling the Luce its most comfortable car yet. The company has fitted its first elastically mounted rear subframe to reduce vibration, while the battery pack, chassis and aluminium body have been developed together to make the structure stiffer and quieter.Benedetto Vigna, Ferrari’s chief executive, said: “We are convinced that a company demonstrates its leadership when it has the courage to dare and to take on the challenge of new technologies. Ferrari Luce was born precisely from this challenge, offering our unprecedented vision of electrification. “Never before have we offered our clients such freedom of choice. In line with our belief in technological neutrality, we are the first in the world to combine fully electric, hybrid and combustion engine architectures for sports cars. We have not limited ourselves to innovation in powertrains; with Luce, we have launched a whole new segment in our range. “This model is the result of more than 60 of our new patents and lies at the heart of an ecosystem of collaborations with outstanding technology partners. We have created a car that combines unique driving emotions with extraordinary performance, driving pleasure, and comfort for the Ferraristi of today and tomorrow”.Ferrari says the Luce will come with its usual seven-year maintenance programme, alongside an eight-year warranty covering key electric parts including the battery, charging system and electric axles.It may have no screaming engine, no familiar long bonnet and room for five people instead for two, but Ferrari is clear that the Luce is not meant to replace the cars that made its name. It is an additional kind of Ferrari for an electric age, a car even for those who would never normally buy a Ferrari – and easily the most radical Prancing Horse to wear the badge so far.