Apple iCar, codename Titan, may be coming soon: Here’s why

 

For those of you, who thought Apple has stopped innovating, think again. Sure there has been a (rather long) hiatus in the barrage of products aiming to put a dent in the universe ever since the legendary founder of the company Steve Job passed away, the Cupertino based electronics giant is gearing up for the next big product assault. An Apple car, or an iCar, as you would have guessed by now is very much on the cards. Now before you start imagining the shape of the iPods on wheels that the ‘ieverything’ company is likely going to dish out, let’s break down the possibilities in detail.

To start with, Tim Cook, the proudly gay chief executive of the world’s most valuable company, in a recent statement said – “There are products that we’re working on that no one knows about, that haven’t been rumored about yet.” To add some more garnish to that lip smacking statement, he asserted that Apple didn’t believe in putting limits on what it was capable of. That the notion of companies slowing down as their revenue grows is never going to apply to Apple.

 

Now, the CEO of a company sitting on a cash-pile of nearly 200 billion US dollars won’t make such an emphatic statement if developing an ‘in-car entertainment system’ was up his mind. Carplay and allied stories are breadcrumbs for the monstrous gastronome Apple is. There’s a feast being prepared at Apple HQs as we talk, and for once it’s going to be served on the plates of us car connoisseurs as well. We really think Apple is developing an electric car, and here are some more reasons why.

To start with, the pioneering leader of the company, Steve the matchless Jobs himself wanted to add a car to Apple’s rather limited product portfolio. An admirer of Porsche’s design, performance and brand philosophy, Jobs wanted to create an automobile with a bitten apple on its grille. To corroborate the above theory, Apple board member Mickey Drexler, in January 2014 said, “Steve Jobs, if he had lived, was going to design an iCar. I think what cars need is someone with a vision on design.” His pupils and confidants including the design guru Johny Ive and Tim Cook himself wouldn’t want to think otherwise.

Next, if you look at the recently hired Apple employees, close to 50 in key positions are ex-Tesla execs. Wow! Elon Musk must be one irritated man right now. What is Apple hiring the guys from the company which has the most cutting-edge tech for electric cars for? To create software? We guess not. What’s more, the company is also rumoured to be recruiting top brains from around the world who know best about battery technology. Gotta power those wheels after all!

So where is all this effort directed? Is there a super secret Apple cell where all these brilliant minds will come together to work? From what appears, there is. Apple has created a new project, codenamed ‘Titan’ and has put hundreds of execs to work on what’s purportedly a new car project, and it’s led by Steve Zadesky, a former Ford engineer.

And Mr. Zadesky is not the only celebrity guy from auto industry working on the new project. Johann Jungwirth, formerly the head of Mercedes-Benz’s Silicon Valley research and development division, is on board too, according to a report from Financial Times. Another important name on the list, an executive Apple hired last year, is Marc Newson, a well-known industrial designer with an auto connect. He’s also a close pal of Jony Ive’s.

And if there ever was any doubt remaining, we just need to urge you to glance at Google, which has been hard at work developing its own autonomous car. And Apple, in all probability, cannot let them take a decisive lead in such an important, financially potent category.

Times, they are a-changin, as Bob Dylan once crooned, inspiring one Steve Jobs and changing, really, the world forever. History seems to be repeating itself, at long last. Steve Jobs must be one happy soul, for now.

Apple car image rendering: Franco Grassi