Looks like the competition has already begun between Google and Apple to get a fully-autonomous electric vehicle (EV) on the road. Earlier this year, it was announced that Apple will be developing such a car, internally referred to as ‘Titan’, with plans for it to hit the market as soon as 2020.
Despite the impossibly tight deadline, development appears to be on track for Apple’s ‘Titan’ – a notion further reinforced with spyshots of a test mule with Dodge Grand Caravan externals plying the streets of Detroit. The dead giveaway is, of course, the immense web of sensors and cameras sitting atop the prototype coupled to a wheel sensor by the side of the rear left tyre.
Why a Dodge Grand Caravan, you ask? According to reports, the fully-autonomous EV is said to possess a shape similar to said MPV. So much for a futuristic, Ford 021C-inspired car (pictured below), then. Nevertheless, one can expect the ‘Titan’ to possess a more streamlined outlook to keep it in line with the firm’s uncluttered design language – no such thing as a jacked-up, self-driving Toyota Prius, thankfully.
It should be noted that the mule wears Californian registration plates, leading many to believe that Apple may be in town to hold talks with car manufacturers and suppliers based in Detroit. Unfortunately, additional technical specifications regarding Apple’s ‘Titan’ remain murky.
All we know is that the firm is rapidly augmenting its arsenal of talent for this project by poaching experts from Samsung, Panasonic, Toshiba, LG Chem and Johnson Controls. Additional reports also state that Apple executives have held a meeting with key personnel from Austria’s Magna Steyr. The firm is responsible for assembling vehicles such as the MINI Paceman and Peugeot RCZ.
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I thought this was Apple’s mapping vehicle to bring Street View into Apple maps?
Apple’s mapping vehicle la
I don’t think this is the mule for Apple EV. Other sites report it as Apple Maps vehicle to collect street imagery, similar to a Google car.
http://www.macrumors.com/2015/06/10/apple-maps-vehicles-us-uk-ireland/
Tesla is the only benchmark (if not revolutionary) EV car makers in this planet.
Apple Street View VS Google Street View. LOL Apple ! Copycat others.