iPhone and MacBook designer Sir Jony Ive to help design an electric Ferrari with Exor

Legendary former Apple designer Sir Jony Ive has signed a deal to help design a new electric Ferrari.

Exor, the holding company run by the Italian industrialist Agnelli family, said on Tuesday it had signed a multi-year deal with Ive’s company LoveFrom. The first collaboration will be working with Ferrari, which Exor is a significant shareholder of. The Financial Times reported that Ive and his long-time collaborator Marc Newson will help to develop the Italian supercar brand’s first electric vehicle.

“We are thrilled to be embarking on such an important, long term collaboration with Ferrari and more broadly Exor,” Ive and Newson, cofounders of LoveForm, said in a joint statement. “As Ferrari owners and collectors, we could not be more excited about collaborating with this extraordinary company and in particular with the design team expertly led by Flavio Manzoni. We see some uniquely exciting opportunities working together which we believe will yield important and valuable work.”

Ive spent 27 years at Apple and is credited with developing the tech firms iconic design style. He worked closely with cofounder Steve Jobs was instrumental in the design of products including the iMac, iPod, iPhone, MacBook, and iPad. Ive left the tech giant in 2019 to set up his own design consultancy.

John Elkann, chairman and chief executive of Exor and chairman of Ferrari said: “Soon after LoveFrom was founded we began to talk with Jony and Marc about opportunities to combine their world-renowned creativity with ours, in complementary and incremental ways.

“Ferrari represents a first, exciting chance to do great things together as we build our future. I’m also delighted that Jony is joining our Partners Council where we look forward to benefitting from his uniquely valuable perspectives.”

Exor is owned by the Agnellis, the Italian dynasty that founded Fiat. As well as Ferrari, the group owns stakes in Fiat-owner Stellantis, Juventus FC, and The Economist, among others. The company said Ive and Newson would collaborate on “a range of creative projects with Exor in the business of luxury.”

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