The possibility of an autonomous Apple Car (otherwise known as Project Titan) has been the subject of discussion for years. Over the past 18 months, however, the conversation has grown steadily. But throughout it all, we never had a clue of what the autonomous electric vehicle might look like. That is, until today, thanks to the release of renders of Vanarama’s Apple Car concept inspired by the tech giant’s own patent filings – check it out below.
Features of the concept Apple Car (Vanarama):
- SUV Coupe Style
“In keeping with automotive trends, we designed the Apple Car as a stylish SUV. “ - Structure without pillar
“Paired with coach doors and a customizable seating arrangement, the pillarless design provides easy access without obstruction. “ - Adaptive doors
“The car doors offer greater flexibility for the movement and loading of passengers, with recessed windows that increase the headroom when boarding. “ - IPhone inspired Door handles
“The Apple Car’s retractable door handles look like the side buttons on the iPhone.” - Intelligent automated assistant
“The Apple Car benefits from the automated assistant: Siri. In addition to the usual question-based commands, the car version monitors road and cabin conditions and makes suggestions without a prompt. - Customizable dashboard
“A fully customizable instrument panel allows drivers to organize controls on their own, whether it’s heating controls, audio system, or driver information. “ - Seamless displays
“Free of bulky edges and borders, the transparent screens extend over the dashboard and center console. “ - Mesh-shaped grid
“A design inspired by the circular vents of the Mac Pro and the shiny Apple logo of previous generations of the MacBook laptop. - Frosted white finish
“A popular color scheme since the iPhone 4 launched in 2010.”
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From an outside perspective, the tech giant appears to be stepping up its development efforts in earnest this year. Last June, Apple hired a former senior executive in BMW’s electric car division – Ulrich Kranz – less than a month after stepping down as CEO of Canoo Inc. (which also develops autonomous electric vehicles). Kranz is now one of Apple’s “biggest auto hires†and joins several former debauched Tesla executives.
As noted by Bloomberg, It wouldn’t be the first time Apple has partnered with BMW talent either. In addition to working with BMW to integrate the iPod into its car infotainment systems in the early 2000s, and providing the iPhone with car key functionality in more recent history, Apple executives are known to regularly visit BMW offices. Apple CEO Tim Cook is also said to be a huge fan of the BMW i8.
“Autonomy itself is basic technology, in my opinion,” said Tim Cook in an interview with The New York Times’ Kara Swisher.
“If you take a step back, the car, in many ways, is a robot. An autonomous car is a robot. And so there are a lot of things you can do with autonomy. And we’ll see what Apple does.
“We investigate so much internally. Many of them never see the light of day. I’m not saying we won’t.
According to ReutersApple is tentatively turning around 2024 for the launch date of its self-driving car – click the link below for a more interactive look at the Vanarama concept (or just scroll through the gallery provided).
