Former Stafford schoolboy behind controversial £474,320 Ferrari electric car

Ferrari’s first electric car has divided opinion following its public launch this week - but what many people will not know is that its designer is a former Stafford schoolboy.

The £474,320 Ferrari Luce has been met with fierce criticism since its launch in Rome on Monday (May 25), although some have praised the ‘brave’ design for moving away from the company’s past.

But while the company has traditionally been associated with famous Italian design houses such as Pininfarina and Bertone, the Luce has been designed by former Walton High School pupil Sir Jonathan ‘Jony’ Ive and his business partner Marc Newson.

Sir Jonathan, who attended the school in the early 1980s, found fame as the chief designer at US technology giant Apple, where he designed the handset of the iPhone, followed by the iPod and Apple watch, before setting up the LoveFrom group in partnership with fellow designer Newson.

In a 2010 interview with the Express & Star, Mr Ive’s former technology teacher Dave Whiting recalled how some of his work defied belief.

“He didn’t learn from me, I was learning from him,” said Mr Whiting.

“Some of the stuff he used to produce, you couldn’t believe he had done it himself."

Some have praised the Luce as a “masterclass in design” while others brutally dismiss it as looking like a “re-skinned Prius”.

The Ferrari Luce – its name is Italian for ‘light’ – was unveiled on Monday by company boss Benedetto Vigna, who called it a major milestone after five years in development.

It is the company’s first five-seater, but the design has not gone down well with traditionalists used to the company’s classic low-slung performance cars, with a number of critics likening it to a Toyota design favoured by taxi derivers.

“The Luce looks like re-skinned Prius with a mid 90s wheel package,” said one post on social media.

Another said: “I thought it was someone’s joke when I first saw the pictures.”

Ferrari chief design officer Flavio Manzoni admitted the design was “polarising”, but innovation often attracted criticism.

He said the brand would continue producing petrol and hybrid cars alongside the new electric model.