I had this conversation with someone a few days ago about why something so contemptible as Harry Styles’ latest album cover can represent some interesting and enjoyable music. Then I wondered if polarizing subjects create the perfect storm for ultimate performance. Some deeper thought thinking led me to a realization. I submit to you: the Ferrari Luce leading to the victory of Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari at Barcelona.
The battery-operated toy, that is the Luce, seems to have been designed purely for billionaires living in Monaco to buy for their nannies to send their kids to school in or to pop over to the shops when they need that late-night pesto fix. With a rear end that looks like it is giving birth to an F355, the Luce has another reason for existing: It was designed to attract the ire of an arbitrary group of people. This ire is an absolute necessity for the Scuderia to start winning, nay, dominating again. Just look at the FIA WEC and how much rage the works Ferrari drivers induce in the supporters of other brands. If you want to bring fans of other teams together, there is no greater way than uniting to hate Ferrari. The Ferrari bosses knew this. That’s why they commissioned Jony Ive and Marc Newsom to breathe life into it. On its birth, the executives looked at each other and asked: “How can we get them to really hate us?” The EUR 550,000 price tag, of course.
I will never buy a Luce. I will never be able to afford a Luce. But it has given the tifosi such a ray of hope. Confusing and angering one’s competition concentrates the hate into a single focus that not even the clown show of the race strategy can derail it. This is what the Scuderia needs right now to win the championship. Forza Ferrari.