The Ferrari Luce and six other luxury EVs worth knowing about (and not a Tesla in sight)

The luxury EV market has become one of the most surprising and exciting areas in motoring. And while Tesla may have kickstarted the electric car revolution, the traditional automotive establishment has been busy building some of the most extraordinary electric cars ever made.

This year feels like a tipping point, with Ferrari unveiling its first ever electric car, designed with Sir Jony Ive and Marc Newson, Rolls-Royce has refined its flagship electric super-coupé into something even more special, and Lucid is embarrassing hypercars with a saloon that hits 62mph in two seconds and still does over 400 miles on a single charge.

I’ve rounded up seven electric cars which showcase seven very different visions of what a luxury EV can be (with not a Tesla in sight). Let’s get into it…

1. Ferrari Luce

Earlier this year, Ferrari officially revealed the Luce – the legendary automaker’s first ever fully electric car, and arguably one of the boldest design swings it’s taken in decades.

The Luce is a five-seat, four-door grand tourer built on a bespoke all-electric platform, powered by four independent electric motors (one per wheel), producing a combined 1050cv and 772kW. It’ll hit 62mph in 2.5 seconds and top out at 192mph. So this is no slouch.

Range sits at a claimed 330 miles, and the 122kWh battery supports 350kW fast charging.

The design was handled by Sir Jony Ive and Marc Newson’s collective, LoveFrom, which is why it doesn’t look like any Ferrari before it. The design has been contentious, to say the least, but I do really like how understated it is.

Inside, it might just be the best car interior ever made. Precision-machined aluminium controls, OLED displays, a glass key that flashes yellow when docked. Rather than defaulting to wall-to-wall touchscreens, Ferrari and LoveFrom have doubled down on tactility and precision.

The sound system runs 21 speakers and 3000W. The Luce also generates its own driving sound, amplified directly from the electric axles rather than using fake engine sounds. Ferrari spent five years and 25,000 miles of testing to get it right.

Why we chose it

Ferrari is the pinnacle when it comes to driving engagement and raw emotion, so the fact it’s making an EV is very exciting.

There’s no doubt the Luce will push the boundaries of what an EV is capable of. With four-wheel steering, active suspension derived from the F80 supercar, torque vectoring on every corner – it should be genuinely thrilling to drive.

The interior is the best Ferrari has ever built too, in my opinion. The LoveFrom collaboration is genius – it’s luxurious without being showy.

Yes, it weighs 2260kg and the price is eye-watering, but my hope for the Luce is that it proves EVs don’t have to be void of driving emotion.

2. Rolls-Royce Spectre Series II

The Spectre was already one of my favourite electric vehicles, and earlier this month, Rolls-Royce released the Spectre Series II.

What’s new? For a start, range is up 18-percent to 390 miles and charging times are down 14-percent. Torque climbs to 1015Nm, even reaching a peak 1100Nm in ‘Spirited Mode’ if you’re feeling brave.

If you go Black Badge, it gets wilder. Infinity Mode unlocks 500kW, making Black Badge Spectre Series II the most powerful Rolls-Royce ever built.

The fastback silhouette remains untouched – I think it looks so elegant and imposing. A new Ethereal Blue exterior finish has been added, along with a redesigned 23-inch forged wheel that takes up to six hours to hand-finish per set.

Inside, it’s as extraordinary as you’d expect. The new Duality Twill upholstery, made from bamboo, can incorporate up to 2.6 million stitches and 10 miles of thread. Placed Perforation leather uses 78,138 precision-cut holes to create artwork across the seats. The new illuminated fascia pulses with 8108 individual pixel-like lights.

And, finally, the new clock is lifted from aviation instrument design.

Why we chose it

Rolls-Royce is the epitome of luxury, and the electric powertrain makes perfect sense for this type of vehicle.

What’s most impressive is how usable it is – this is a Rolls-Royce that people can actually drive daily.

Sure, the Series II upgrades aren’t dramatic, but the original was so good that Rolls-Royce only needed to refine, not reinvent.

The Bespoke possibilities are genuinely endless, with clients having had their constellations mapped into the headliner or their homes replicated in the interior.

3. Mercedes G 580

The Mercedes G-Class has been around since 1979, and over that time its morphed from a utilitarian military vehicle into a luxury status symbol. The G-Wagon is most popular in G 63 guise, complete with a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, but actually the fully-electric G 580 is my favourite model in the line-up.

The G 580 has four individual electric motors, one per wheel, producing 432kW and 1164Nm of torque. It’ll hit 62mph in 4.7 seconds.

The 116kWh battery delivers up to 473km of range, and DC fast charging tops out at 200kW (10 to 80-percent in around 32 minutes).

The box-on-wheels silhouette is almost entirely unchanged, with round headlights, angular bodywork, top-mounted indicators and super rugged styling.

But underneath, it can do things no G-Class has done before. The real headline feature is ‘G-Turn’ which rotates the entire vehicle on the spot using opposing wheel rotation, like a tank pivot. G-Steering dramatically tightens the turning circle off-road, and the intelligent crawl function acts like cruise control for rough terrain, holding a set speed while you focus on the line ahead.

Fording depth is 850mm, actually 150mm deeper than the petrol version, and the virtual differential locks respond faster than any mechanical system ever could.

Inside, it’s thoroughly modern too, with a 12.3-inch MBUX display, Burmester 3D surround sound, and transparent bonnet function.

Why we chose it

The G 580 is the most capable off-roader on this list – and that go-anywhere ability, combined with hugely desirable styling, is a real luxury.

Most importantly, the electric platform doesn’t compromise the G-Class, it improves it, with deeper wading, virtual diff locks, and the electric crawl function.

And it’s still unmistakably a G-Class. It’s an icon – now electric.

4. BMW i7

The 7 Series has been BMW‘s flagship for nearly 50 years and the new i7 is the most significant update it’s ever received.

This generation is the first car to feature technology from BMW’s Neue Klasse platform. That means sixth-generation eDrive cylindrical cells, a range of over 445 miles, and a whole new level of software upgrades.

For a start, the i7 is a big luxury saloon that’s just as nice to drive as it is to be driven in. It features adaptive air suspension, four electronically controlled dampers, and optional integral active steering. The Motorway Assistant enables hands-off driving up to 80mph in supported European countries.

Inside, it’s spectacular. The Panoramic iDrive setup dominates the dashboard, while the rear-seat Theatre Screen supports 8K streaming, gaming, and video calls. The Bowers & Wilkins sound system with Dolby Atmos is genuinely concert-hall quality.

The Intelligent Personal Assistant now integrates Amazon Alexa+ AI.

I really like most aspects of the exterior as well. The minimalist crystal headlights, the clean surfaces, and the Dual-Finish paintwork all look great (I’m not a fan of the giant glowing kidney grille, however).

Why we chose it

The i7 works equally well from the driver’s seat and the back seat. The range is super-impressive and intelligent route planning and adaptive recuperation, makes long-distance EV travel genuinely effortless.

But the tech is the real story here – this thing is like Harrods tech department on wheels.

It’s fast, refined, and features the best tech in its class.

5. Porsche Taycan Black Edition

The Porsche Taycan was one of the very first true luxury electric vehicles, it’s been one of our favourites for a long time, but the latest Black Edition makes it even better.

Available as a sports sedan or Sport Turismo estate, this special edition bundles the Performance Battery Plus as standard – a 105kWh unit that would otherwise cost you extra. It now delivers up to 415 miles of range.

Visually, it’s exactly what it sounds like. High-gloss black Sport Design package, black side window trims, black exterior mirrors, black rear badging, and an illuminated rear light strip with a blacked-out Porsche logo. It looks genuinely menacing – especially against the non-black colour options, which are included at no extra cost.

Inside, the black interior accent package, storage package, and illuminated black brushed aluminium door sill guards all come as standard. So does a Bose Dolby Atmos surround sound system, HD Matrix LED headlights, Surround View with Active Parking Assist, and 14-way electrically adjustable comfort seats with the Porsche crest on the headrests.

A small ‘Black Edition’ badge sits in the centre console.

Why we chose it

Despite being the most affordable car on this list, the Taycan is still, without doubt, one of the best luxury EVs around. It’s the OG, and Porsche has stayed relevant with countless performance and visual upgrades.

I’m a big fan of the Black Edition, which, instead of just adding visual upgrades, Porsche has also bundled the bigger battery. The result is a car that both looks great, and is a great everyday, usable car.

The Taycan has always driven brilliantly too. That hasn’t changed. It remains the benchmark for how an electric sports car should feel – both responsive and precise.

6. Lucid Air Sapphire

The Lucid Air Sapphire aims to keep Silicon Valley on top of the luxury EV pile with insane range and even more insane performance.

The Lucid Air Sapphire runs three motors, two at the rear, one at the front, all developed in-house, producing 1251PS and 1940Nm of torque. It hits 62mph in two seconds flat and hits a top speed of 205mph. Those are hypercar numbers in a four-door family saloon.

That’s already mightly impressive, but then there’s the range – 430 miles from a single charge. No other car on this list comes close to combining that kind of pace with that kind of distance.

The Air offers four drive modes to cover every scenario – ‘Smooth’ for daily commuting, ‘Swift’ for spirited road use, ‘Sapphire’ for maximum on-road attack, and ‘Track’ with ‘Dragstrip’, ‘Hot Lap’, and ‘Endurance’ sub-modes, for driving on circuits.

The Sapphire is the range-topping model, with upgraded suspension, steering geometry, anti-roll bars, and torque vectoring algorithms. This sets it apart from a standard Air – it’s been engineered from the ground up to be something different.

Inside, the Sapphire Mojave interior theme, sports seats with bolster support, heating, cooling, and massage, plus a 34-inch floating Glass Cockpit and 21-speaker Dolby Atmos audio system set the scene nicely.

Why we chose it

On paper, this is one of the most impressive electric vehicles around – two seconds to 62mph, 430 miles of range, room for five adults, a boot and a frunk. There are very few compromises here.

Lucid’s in-house motor and battery technology is genuinely ahead of the field right now, and the Sapphire is the purest expression of that.

7. Rimac Nevera R

The Nevera R is an evolution of the original Nevera hypercar, and it’s obscene in the best possible way. Four individual electric motors create 2107hp.

It’s capable of 0-60mph time of 1.66 seconds and a top speed of 267mph. It set 24 verified performance world records.

It isn’t just fast in a straight line, either. Rimac’s torque vectoring system gives each wheel its own motor, allowing precision and control that no mechanical differential could ever match. It promises to corner like it’s on rails, then launch out of those corners like something from a railgun.

The Founder’s Edition takes the already extraordinary Nevera R and elevates it to something else entirely. Just ten cars are being produced, each one configured in a personal session at the Rimac Campus in Zagreb, sitting opposite Mate Rimac himself.

A two-tone exterior splits the car, visually lowering the stance and giving it an aggressive, forward-tilting look. An ultra-thin two-millimetre roof stripe incorporates Rimac’s signature cravat motif.

Mate Rimac personally delivers each car. Then his professional test team trains you to drive it.

Why we chose it

This is the fastest, most exclusive car ever created. The numbers are simply beyond comparison, bending the laws of physics.

But speed and driving experience alone doesn’t earn a place on this list. What makes the Nevera R Founders Edition so remarkable is how bespoke it is. Sitting with Mate Rimac to configure your own hypercar, then having him deliver it to your door, is unparalleled.

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