Traction control usually works the same way no matter who’s behind the wheel. The new Ferrari Luce does things differently, with a system the Prancing Horse says actually adapts to your skill level the more you drive it.
The Luce is the first electric Ferrari and features four electric motors, one per wheel, for all-wheel drive. That gives it an enormous amount of control over how power is fed to the road, and Ferrari has used it to build a traction control system that evolves as it learns who’s driving.
Ferrari says the system starts with a fixed, pre-loaded estimate of grip. From there, it reads your inputs and builds a picture of how you drive. Prove you know what you’re doing, with clean inputs, smooth throttle and progressive braking into corners, and the system gradually raises its limits and lets you access more of the car’s performance.
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“Our traction control starts with a fixed grip estimate, but it then evolves according to how the driver’s skill shows through,” said Raffaele de Simone, Ferrari’s chief test driver. “If you are good enough, your Sport mode can grow into the Race mode of a track-focused sports car.”
Drive badly and it does the opposite. Ferrari says that if your reactions are quick and snatchy, the system keeps a tighter leash on things to calm you down.
“My sport is not your sport,” Mr de Simone said. “The system is always evolving, helping you grow in terms of skill and confidence. Drive cleanly and it follows you, and unlocks a higher level of power.”
That also explains why there’s no separate Race mode on the Luce. Ferrari says race calibrations traditionally belong to GT-style cars, and that the Luce’s adaptive approach already covers that ground for drivers who earn it. The five-position Manettino instead runs from Ice through to ESC Off, with a new Dry setting that Ferrari says will cover around 80 per cent of sporty road driving.
Ferrari is also keen to point out the car remains playful at the limit. The company says it worked hard on the ESC Off mode so the Luce can be driven sideways and held in a drift, while still keeping things genuine and intuitive rather than intimidating. Ferrari says it didn’t want the first electric Ferrari to feel boxed in by its electronics, describing the last bit of polish as the difference between a good car and a proper Ferrari.
Underpinning all of this is the car’s four-motor layout, which lets each wheel be driven, braked and steered independently.
“The car revealed its soul when we were able to let the four wheels work together, not separately,” Mr de Simone said. “Potentially they can spin one in reverse, one on the front, but coordinating them harmoniously was the game changer. That was the moment the car started to behave as one.”
It’s a clever use of the electric platform, and it suggests the Luce could be one of the more rewarding EVs to actually drive. We’ll find out for ourselves when we get behind the wheel.
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