Jony Ive Designs Ferrari's First Electric Car Interior With Physical Controls [Video]

Jony Ive has revealed a major new hardware collaboration, unveiling a completely redesigned interior for Ferrari's first electric vehicle, the Luce. Ive and his firm LoveFrom moved away from oversized touchscreens in favor of physical buttons and tactile controls.



While Ive is the designer who brought the iPhone's multitouch interface to the world, he argues that automakers learned the wrong lesson from it. He told Prndl that the iPhone needed a shifting glass surface to become a thousand different apps, but a car has specific, consistent functions that benefit from muscle memory. Using touch as the primary interface in a moving vehicle, he said, requires drivers to look at what they're doing instead of keeping their eyes on the road.


The interior layout of the Luce is a direct response to that concern. The central display sits on a ball-and-socket joint so it can pivot to face the driver or passenger, but the most important detail is the large handle attached to its side. It acts as a palm rest and physical anchor, stabilizing the hand so the interface can be used more accurately while driving. Below the screen, LoveFrom brought back dedicated mechanical switches and knobs for frequently used controls such as volume, temperature, and heated seats, keeping key functions out of digital menus.

The steering wheel is machined from solid aluminum and features glass-and-aluminum buttons designed with distinct shapes so they can be identified by feel. Even the paddle shifters have been repurposed; since EVs don't have gears to shift, they control regenerative braking intensity and motor torque delivery instead. Behind the wheel, the instrument cluster blends the digital and physical in a unique way. It uses overlapping Samsung OLED displays, including a top panel cut with openings that reveal a second display beneath, paired with convex glass lenses to create real depth and parallax. A physical needle rises through the gap between the displays, adding an analog element to the layered digital readout.



LoveFrom focused on what Ive calls "truthful materials," emphasizing exposed aluminum, glass, and leather while minimizing the use of plastic. That attention to detail extends to the key, which is made from Corning glass and features an embedded E Ink display. When docked in the center console, it changes appearance and triggers a startup sequence designed to create a sense of occasion.

This project represents one of the most significant public reveals from Ive since he left Apple in 2019 to form LoveFrom. Despite the heavy customization and bespoke interface, Ferrari confirmed the system supports wireless Apple CarPlay. The company also says the Luce will support wireless Android Auto. That stands in contrast to automakers like General Motors and Rivian, which have removed the feature to prioritize their own proprietary software.


Take a look at the video below for a closer look at the interior...