Jeffrey Cheng, a hypercar collector known on Instagram as @speedy_jeff, reportedly rejected the invitation to buy the Ferrari Luce, Maranello’s first electric car, in extremely harsh terms. According to screenshots that have circulated online, sales consultant Lee Perkins contacted Cheng with a confidential message aimed at a selected group of customers, containing information about availability, allocations and the ordering procedure. Cheng’s reply reportedly left no room for doubt. He allegedly called the car an “abomination” and said he would never be seen driving such a model.
Ferrari Luce slammed by hypercar collector over design and EV identity
His criticism did not focus only on the absence of a combustion engine. Cheng reportedly attacked the design above all, judging it far removed from Ferrari tradition and lacking the elegance, visual tension and character people expect from a Prancing Horse model. The harshest part concerned the identity of the project itself, which the collector reportedly described as “anti-Italian”, saying he could hardly believe that a group of Italian designers had approved such a result. That is a heavy statement, because it strikes at one of Maranello’s historical pillars: the ability to create cars in which engineering, beauty and charm feel immediately recognizable.
The message also reportedly included a reference to price. According to Cheng, anyone who wants a high-end electric car can already choose a Tesla, Rivian or Lucid while spending far less. It is a provocative comparison, because Ferrari has never competed on economic rationality, but it shows that some observers are judging the Luce with different criteria from those usually applied to traditional Ferraris. His comment on Ferrari’s allocation system cuts even deeper. According to the collector, some customers might buy the Luce not because they genuinely want the model, but to strengthen their relationship with the brand and gain future access to more exclusive cars, something Ferrari has already denied.
Cheng’s reaction matters because it does not come from an ordinary commentator, but from someone inside the world of ultra-high-end customers, exactly the kind of audience Maranello watches most closely. Criticism from purists was predictable from the moment Ferrari announced its first electric car, but open dissent from a collector with this profile adds a more concrete element to the debate.
The Luce must prove that it can be desirable and technically worthy of the Ferrari name even without a combustion engine. At the same time, it cannot afford to alienate those who see the Prancing Horse as a tradition built on sound, mechanical emotion and automotive culture before pure performance.
