The project of an autonomous electric car signed Apple is still at this stage only a rumor. However, Apple continues to recruit highly qualified profiles from car manufacturers, a sign that the project is progressing.
One could wonder for a time if the “iCar” project had been abandoned by Apple. This autonomous electric car project seemed to have faded into the background, but in recent months a resurgence of activity seems to be felt. According to Bloomberg, on July 27, 2022, Apple has just recruited a key profile from Lamborghini, and this is not the only highly qualified profile to join the Cupertino company.
Between hiring and filing patents, Apple is again more active on its automotive project named Titan. Apple apparently does not intend to limit itself to offering a software solution, such as Apple carplay, to car manufacturers.
Former Lamborghini, Ford, Tesla…
Luigi Taraborrelli is the latest major recruit unearthed by Apple for its automotive section. In 20 years of experience at Lamborghini, Luigi Taraborrelli has acquired many skills. In his last role, he was responsible for the chassis and dynamics of the brand’s vehicles.
It’s hard not to see in this recruitment a desire to develop a full-fledged vehicle on the part of Apple. On the other hand, it is more surprising to find these skills in the world of luxury and sportsmanship, because the design philosophy is not really the same as for producing a vehicle on a larger scale. Apple’s design executives also have former senior design executives from McLaren, Porsche and Aston Martin. Does this Project Titan have the same vision as the rest of Apple’s products, or will it address a niche market?
This former Lamborghini is not the only one to have joined Apple in recent months. Bloomberg also points out that the firm hired, earlier in the year, a Ford manager with more than 31 years of experience at the manufacturer. More broadly, Apple has made its market for several years by poaching qualified people, whether managers or engineers, both from traditional manufacturers and from other tech companies such as Tesla, Rivian, Waymo, or Canoo. . A mixture of profiles that seems to be on paper quite interesting for Apple’s automotive project, the result of which we are now curious to see.
A project for 2024/2025?
Over the years, Apple has filed numerous patents that give an idea of how the project is evolving.
The main areas of development have been in the areas of autonomous driving and other software for vehicles. He also said that Apple was directly aiming for level 5 autonomous driving, without any steering wheel on board the vehicle. If the project is to see the light of day by 2025, the firm will surely have to review its copy, because it would be surprising if the legislation had evolved quickly enough in this direction.
Apple is also interested in V2X (vehicle-to-everything) technology, which allows cars to communicate with each other and connect to the Internet of Things (of which road signs are an integral part). However, other patents also relate to equipment related to driving comfort, such as the seats, the suspension or the roof.
In a Nikkei Asia investigation into Apple’s patents, the outlet also noted that some patents had been developed in partnership with Intel in the past. In more recent filings, the brand now seems to seek to go it alone, as with its M1 and M2 chips.
It is true that at the time of the first rumors, the Apple Car could only be done in partnership with another car manufacturer, but the marriages announced with all the potential fiancés never took. With recent hires, we can see a desire to move the project forward alone. Will Apple manage to go all the way, or will it end up throwing in the towel like Dyson? A little patience, we’ll find out sooner or later.