Project Titan, SixtyEight & SG5: Inside Apple's top-secret electric car project Project Titan, SixtyEight & SG5: Inside Apple's top-secret electric car project By Neil Hughes & Mikey Campbell Friday, March 13, 2015, 06:18 am PT (09:18 am ET) Shrouded in secrecy and speculation, Apple's mysterious "Titan" electric car project is believed to be in development at a top-secret facility hidden in plain sight, discovered by AppleInsider just minutes away from the company's California headquarters. Artist's (poor) rendering of an Apple garage. Whether or not the mythical "Apple Car" ever becomes a real product, the company is tinkering away on a top-secret automotive project. Sources familiar with the development of "Titan" say it's well beyond the concept stage, with serious work underway at a site located off of Apple's Cupertino campus. Specifically, two people with knowledge of the project say Apple has been working on it and receiving shipments related to its development at a building just minutes from 1 Infinite Loop, in the town of Sunnyvale.

It is unclear if this secondary campus is ground zero for "Titan." But AppleInsider can confirm that Apple does indeed have a large presence at the location, and that numerous automotive-related renovations, including an "auto work area" and a "repair garage," have been constructed on the premises. From email to Sunnyvale Last fall, AppleInsider was told that Apple was recruiting engineers from automaker Tesla for an undisclosed electric car project dubbed "Titan." At the time, the information could not be verified, and the editorial staff collectively decided that the details —like many other unverifiable tips received —were not reliable enough to be published. Since then, however, much of the information first provided by that source months ago, including the "Titan" codename, has been corroborated by other sources who spoke with numerous other news outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, and Bloomberg. That revelation led AppleInsider to revisit those claims from last fall to find out more about the supposed Apple electric car, said to be under development at a top-secret building known by the internal codename "SG5." The results of this extensive investigation led to Sunnyvale, Calif., and the home of a mysterious market research firm dubbed SixtyEight.

Nestled amongst a number of verifiable Apple-run offices, it is believed that this location is a key component of the "Titan" project. Apple moves in, but flies under the radar Apple's presence in Sunnyvale is not a secret. It was first reported last May that Apple was to occupy seven buildings, comprising nearly 300,000 square feet, of a large office complex that previously belonged to semiconductor firm Maxim Integrated. At the time, it seemed like business as usual; Apple is tight on space at 1 Infinite Loop and has been leasing other nearby buildings for years —the company has nearly monopolized the available commercial space in neighboring Cupertino, where Infinite Loop is located. The need for even more space has been cited as the main reason for the building of Apple's new "spaceship" headquarters. The Sunnyvale campus is also shared with other tenants. For example, one building serves as headquarters for development company CPP, while IT security startup Illumio has also taken up residence there. But another building at the complex, street number "175," has no listed tenant, despite being off the market for months.

And building permits for tenant improvements at the site reveal that it includes a 4,239-square-foot "repair garage" —without acknowledging the current lessee, an unusual practice. When visited in person, the office at building "175" is advertised as home to a mysterious company named SixtyEight Research. Aside from a sparse website registered through GoDaddy less than a year ago that reveals virtually no information about the company, SixtyEight has no discernible online presence. For a self-proclaimed "innovative" company that's "redefining market research," SixtyEight's existence at the Sunnyvale office complex, where it's right under Apple's nose, has been strangely quiet. Is SixtyEight a real company, or is it a way for Apple to maintain secrecy on a project hiding in plain sight? Apple shifting gears According to one AppleInsider source familiar with "Titan," many of Apple's new auto-related hires, including recruits from Tesla, have been working out of the Sunnyvale campus. This person claims that some of the projects underway there have been kept "very secret" within the company.

It is said that the "Titan" development building itself is codenamed "SG5." To keep their presence under the radar, Apple employees have allegedly been told to turn their official company badges around when entering the building. To keep their presence under the radar, Apple employees have allegedly been told to turn their official company badges around when entering the building, so they will not be seen by members of the public. For guests who are granted access to "SG5," it was said that badges are provided which look identical to those issued at 1 Infinite Loop, sans an Apple logo. Separately, another source, who does not have a proven track record on Apple rumors, said that the company has bought automotive testing hardware that was delivered to offices near its Cupertino headquarters. While this person didn't specifically name the Sunnyvale location, they did identify the location as a "relatively new" addition to Apple's corporate offices. The questions about Apple's operation don't stop there, as government-issued permits for construction at the campus only add to the intrigue. Permission to land The City of Sunnyvale has issued a number of permits to Apple at the site, proving the company leases at least three of the campus's seven properties.

Apple has taken residence in the building with the largest footprint, which is outfitted with a battery room, reliability lab, water ingress lab, 2,000 gallon tank, conference room, break room, computer labs, and test chambers. Outside are bicycle parking facilities, while two large loading areas flank a row of overhead doors installed to the rear of the building. Evidence suggests Apple is conducting research and development and quality assurance testing at the site. Apple has labs in California dedicated to stress-testing new products, one of which was opened to media last September after the iPhone 6 "bend-gate" controversy. Although Apple is rumored to be working on advanced battery technology, the building's battery room is likely used as a power backup or uninterruptible power supply for computers, servers and other integral machinery. Apple pulled more permits for this building than any other company leasing space in the Sunnyvale complex did for their own. Recent inspections were conducted on emergency radio systems, fire sprinkler installations and general construction. Inspectors completed a check of wall upright sprinklers on Feb. 18, and another inspection for overhead installations is coming up this month. Late last year, an operations trailer and various vehicles from Devcon Construction were spotted outside the warehouse-like structure.

Devcon is a major Silicon Valley contractor responsible for corporate campuses built by Yahoo, Adobe, Cisco, Marvell and more. The firm also performed remodeling jobs for A-list tech companies and has experience in sustainable building. Apple is listed on this recent permit as the tenant making improvements. Apple is also listed as the tenant on all three levels of the campus's flagship building next door, permits show. Inside is space for a cafe, conference rooms, offices and multiple rooms labeled "lab." Apple recently asked select developers to test out WatchKit at its labs in Sunnyvale, and while the exact address was not disclosed, a three-story campus building would be an ideal place to host such a program. At another building on the campus, permits show Apple has outfitted the space as an open office. Little else is known about that building, which appears to have undergone fewer renovations than its neighbors. One AppleInsider source with knowledge of the company's structure said that much of the App Store review team works out of Sunnyvale, suggesting that group is likely the primary occupant of one or more of these buildings. The complex's remaining addresses —"165" and "175" —are shrouded in secrecy.

Both buildings "165" and "175" recently underwent renovations to build out a repair garage and auto work area, but oddly have no tenant listed. At building "175," where SixtyEight Research is located, the story is especially interesting. Permits show recent fire sprinkler inspections for both the 4,239-square-foot windowless repair garage and 7,520 square-feet of office space. Out back is a rolling overhead door, large enough to easily fit a car or minivan. Most recently, the property assigned to SixtyEight underwent interior demolition work for an unspecified project earmarked for generic tenant improvements. Next door, no tenant is listed on the tenant improvement permits issued for building "165," the same unusual practice found for work at SixtyEight's facility. Recent filings point to the construction of an "auto work area," as well as office and meeting space. A raised landing located on the north-facing wall serves as a loading zone. The SixtyEight-Apple connection A company identified only as "SixtyEight LLC" was registered last March in Delaware, then licensed as a foreign corporation in California last November.

Notably, that firm later paid to import a 1957 Fiat Multipla 600 from the U.K. into the U.S. Jony Ive, Apple's British-born head of design, is known to have a soft spot for the Fiat 500 that he drove while in school. He and co-designer Marc Newson also auctioned off a Product(RED) Fiat 600 back in 2013. Apple's Jony Ive and Marc Newson customized this Fiat 600 for a charity auction in 2013. Ive has an affinity for Fiat's design. SixtyEight's affiliation with Apple could not be confirmed, but Apple does have a long history of using shell corporations and deceptive methods to hide its secret projects. Aside from a barren website, there is scant other information about SixtyEight— lending more credence to its use as a front. It wouldn't be a stretch to surmise that SixtyEight could play a role in allowing Apple to purchase and import automotive equipment and tools without drawing any suspicion.

Apple, after all, is the biggest company in the world, and has been known to force engineers to use false names in the past when visiting suppliers to avoid unwelcome attention. When AppleInsider visited SixtyEight's headquarters at building "175" earlier this week, its windows were a "frosted" opaque, and security cameras were visible outside. While this is not unheard of for an office building, it does seem somewhat odd for a little-known market research company. The security measures seen there are also similar to those spotted at other Apple facilities. Even more interesting, however, was a note taped to SixtyEight's front door. It informs drivers that the company's lobby has been moved to a new address: the same office complex's flagship three-story building, leased entirely by Apple. Apple declined to comment for this story. Sam Oliver contributed to this report. Topics: Apple Car: Everything We Know | MacRumors Apple Car Timeline Starting in 2014, Apple began working on "Project Titan," with upwards of 1,000 employees working on developing an electric vehicle at a secret location near its Cupertino headquarters.

Internal strife, leadership issues, and other problems impacted the car project, leading Apple to shelve it for the foreseeable future . Apple has laid off hundreds of employees who were working on the project, and under the leadership of Bob Mansfield, Apple has transitioned to building an autonomous driving system rather than a full car. By creating an autonomous driving system, Apple may be able to partner with existing car makers or return to its own car development project in the future, and it will be able to produce a product able to deeply integrate with iOS devices. Apple has several teams working on different aspects of the software. In Canada, a team made up of two dozen former BlackBerry QNX customers are helping to develop the base operating system, while another team works on developing the software that will run on it, such as a heads-up display and self-driving capabilities. A self-driving simulation group, which includes VR expert Doug Bowman , has created simulators that use virtual reality to test Apple's self-driving software. Apple is continuing to hire new employees as it redirects its focus, and Apple executives have reportedly given the car team until 2017 to prove the feasibility of an autonomous driving system.

It is not clear if and when Apple will return to developing a full-blown car, nor is it known when Apple might have its driving system ready to ship. For that reason, the future of "Project Titan" is now in flux and its ultimate fate won't be known until next year at the earliest. When "Project Titan" was first conceived, rumors suggested Apple was working on an electric vehicle, perhaps with autonomous driving capabilities. Development on the car went as far as Apple entering talks with several car manufacturers about a potential partnership, such as BMW, Daimler, and Magna Steyr, but nothing seems to have come out of those talks. Apple also sought locations for testing vehicle prototypes and talked with the DMV about vehicle regulations, but all of that work is how on hold. Apple Car History Apple's interest in a car dates back to before the original iPhone, and Apple executives discussed building a car before the device launched. Steve Jobs considered developing an Apple car, and even met with the manufacturer of the lightweight, inexpensive "V-Vehicle" in 2010, but is said to have ultimately decided not to work on a car in 2008, preferring instead to focus development on the iPhone.

With the iPhone now secure as Apple's most profitable device, Apple has turned to other avenues of research and development, once again exploring the possibility of an Apple Car. The first details on the Apple Car started leaking out at the beginning of 2015. In February of 2015, a mysterious van leased to Apple was spotted driving around streets in Northern California. The van had a camera rig attached to it with multiple cameras, leading to speculation that Apple was using it to develop a product similar to Google Street View. More outlandish speculation ranged towards the possibility of a self-driving vehicle, but people who spotted the vans quickly determined the vans had drivers. Apple later came out and said the vans were related to a mapping project, but they were undoubtedly the catalyst that led to the discovery of Apple's secret on a car.

One of the mysterious vans driving around the Bay Area Just days after the vans were first spotted, an unidentified Apple employee emailed Business Insider, suggesting Apple was working on a project that would "give Tesla a run for its money." The source said that Tesla employees were "jumping ship" to work on a project at Apple that was "too exciting to pass up." That tantalizing hint led several media sites to dig deep into Apple's plans, and in mid-February, Financial Times learned that Apple was recruiting automotive technology and vehicle design experts to work in a "top-secret research lab." That piece highlighted Apple's hiring of former Mercedes-Benz Research and Development exec Johann Jungwirth and pointed out Apple's efforts to research automotive products. Financial Times and other media sources initially speculated Apple was perhaps developing an advanced software platform to build upon CarPlay because a full-on car project sounded unbelievable, but just hours later, The Wall Street Journal launched a figurative bomb. Apple is indeed working on creating an electric vehicle, said the site, a project that it started exploring in 2014.

According to The Wall Street Journal's sources, Apple has hundreds of employees working on designing a minivan-like electric vehicle under the code name "Project Titan." Steve Zadesky, Apple VP of Product Design was leading the project under Dan Riccio, and was given the go ahead by Apple CEO Tim Cook to recruit upwards of 1,000 employees, many from within Apple, who are working on the project at a secret location near the company's Cupertino campus. Apple executives have met with contract manufacturers of high-end cars like Magna Steyr, who could potentially work with Apple on creating the car if Apple's project continues. A Magna Steyr conceptual vehicle from 2012 One rumor suggested Apple spoke to BMW about using BMW's electric i3 body as the base for the Apple Car, but those talks reportedly ended without a deal. The i3 is a small hatchback with a carbon fiber shell and could hint at the design direction Apple is aiming at for its car project. The BMW i3 Apple also was unable to establish a deal with Daimler, and its inability to ink deals with both Daimler and BMW was reportedly caused by questions over who would lead the company and which company would have ownership over data.

Apple wants control over the car, including deep integration with iCloud, which has caused negotiation difficulties. Apple also entered into preliminary talks with McLaren, but the talks never progressed to a "definitive proposition." Apple has sourced test facilities for the Apple Car project, suggesting prototype vehicles may already exist or will soon exist, and Apple has also met with DMV officials in California to discuss the current laws surrounding autonomous vehicles. In September of 2015, reports suggested Apple was speeding up development on its car after upgrading the project with a "committed" label. Apple is planning to make additional hires in the coming months and years and is said to be targeting 2019 or 2020 as a completion date for the project. In January of 2016, Steve Zadesky announced plans to leave Apple , leaving questions as to who would take over the car project following his departure. In July of 2016, The Wall Street Journal reported that Bob Mansfield has taken over the electric vehicle team. Mansfield retired from Apple in 2012, but stayed on as an advisor. He has worked on Apple's "Special Projects" team and will now be leading Apple Car development.

All senior managers working on the project now report to him instead of Dan Riccio, who Zadesky formerly reported to. After Mansfield began heading up the project in the summer of 2016, Apple's car strategy shifted towards autonomous driving , and in August and September of 2016, Apple laid off dozens of employees who were working on the project following an internal "reboot." Apple adjusted the project to focus more heavily on the "underlying technology" for autonomous vehicles rather than actually building an automobile, and while initial rumors suggested the company was still developing a car and was continuing to pursue partnerships, later information indicates work on an actual car has stopped for the time being. Apple is now focusing its efforts entirely on building an autonomous driving system and hundreds of employees have left the company or have had their talents redirected in recent months as the car project has shifted. Apple is no longer creating a physical car at the moment, but rumors have suggested that could change in the future. With an autonomous driving system, Apple can partner with other companies in the future or go back to building its own car, leaving the door open for a return to the car project. In November of 2016, Apple sent a letter to the U.S.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration , suggesting that new entrants to the auto industry should get the same rights as established companies. The letter further highlights Apple's interest in machine learning and autonomous systems, with Apple even going as far as confirming its work in the two areas in a statement released to the press. Apple's vice president of environment, policy, and social initiatives Lisa Jackson serves on the Federal Committee on Automation after being appointed by the U.S. Department of Transportation in January of 2017. The committee acts as an advisory panel for modern transportation issues, including the development and deployment of automated vehicles. Apple has given the car team until 2017 to prove the feasibility of a self-driving car system. Recruitment Efforts Apple started with team of about 200 employees working on the Apple Car, but its goal is to have upwards of 1,000 employees on the project. Since early 2015, Apple has been recruiting employees from the automotive industry and other car-related fields, such as researchers with specialties in battery technology and autonomous systems.

Some employees on the team have previously worked for major companies like Tesla, Ford, and GM, while others have been recruited from smaller companies like A123 Systems, MIT Motorsports, Ogin, Autoliv, Concept Systems, and General Dynamics. High-profile Apple hires from Tesla include former mechanical engineering manager David Nelson, former senior powertrain test engineer John Ireland, former Tesla head recruiter Lauren Ciminera, who may be working to recruit additional employees for the car project, and former Tesla vice president Chris Porritt, who may have joined Apple to play a key role in the development of the Apple Car. Porritt has decades of experience in the European automotive industry, having worked for companies like Land Rover and Aston Martin prior to joining Tesla. Former Tesla senior CNC programmer David Masiukiewicz joined Apple in April 2016 to work in the Product Realization Lab , perhaps creating prototypes of parts designed for the Apple Car. Kevin Harvey, who previously worked in the CNC machine shop at Andretti Autosport, is also working in the lab. Other notable hires include five employees from A123 Systems , a company that specializes in producing batteries for electric vehicles.

Apple faced a lawsuit ( now-settled ) from A123 Systems over the poached employees, several of whom had expertise in lithium ion batteries designed for electric vehicles. The company's former CTO, Mujeeb Ijaz, is one of Apple's highest profile hires. Ijaz led a team responsible for research and development at A123 Systems, and prior to that, he worked at Ford as an electric and fuel cell vehicle engineering manager. Apple has also recruited two former Ford engineers and an engineer that came from General Motors, and it has been poaching battery experts from Samsung. Other former Ford employees , with expertise in body work, include Todd Gray and Aindrea Campbell. In mid-2015, Apple hired Doug Betts , who previously served as the Senior Vice President of the Chrysler Group, where he was the global head of operations leading product service and quality. Betts may be part of the operations team working on Apple's car project. Apple hired several employees from electric motorcycle startup Mission Motors, reportedly leading to the company's shutdown. Apple recruited six engineers from the startup, whom are said to have electric drive expertise.

Apple has been hiring individuals with expertise in autonomous vehicles, such as Tesla Motors engineer Jamie Carlson, who worked on Tesla's autonomous vehicle firmware project, Paul Furgale , a researcher with specialization in autonomous vehicles, and Jonathan Cohen , NVIDIA's former director of deep learning who worked on deep learning for NVIDIA's Drive NX platform. Apple has also hired Megan McClain, a former Volkswagen engineer, Vinay Palakkode, a graduate researcher at Carnegie Mellon University, Xianqiao Tong, who developed driver assistance systems for NVIDIA, Sanjai Massey, a Ford engineer who worked on connected and autonomous vehicles, Stefan Weber, a Bosch engineer who worked on driver assistance systems, and Lech Szumilas, a Delphi research scientist with former expertise in autonomous vehicles. Rónán Ó Braonáin, who worked as Director of Engineering at Reviver, a company that creates digital license plates, was hired by Apple in August. It is not clear if digital license plate technology is something Apple is planning on for the Apple Car, but it's a possibility.

Apple has made multiple hires with expertise in charging technology , including Nan Liu, an engineer who worked on wireless charging for electric vehicles and Kurt Adelberger , an expert on charging that formerly worked for Google. Other 2015 hires include Tesla Motors engineering manager Hal Ockerse, who worked on driver assistance system components; Subhagato Dutta, who worked on an automotive algorithm team at Texas Instruments; and Yakshu Madaan, who previously worked at Tata Motors, the largest Indian automotive manufacturer. In the summer of 2016, Apple hired Dan Dodge , who formerly ran BlackBerry's automotive software division and developed QNX, the software platform found in a wide range of in-car infotainment systems. Dodge's automotive software expertise suggests he is working on the team developing Apple's autonomous car system. Apple has at least two dozen former BlackBerry QNX employees working on developing an in-car software platform at a facility in Kanata, Canada. Secret Headquarters Several rumors about the Apple Car have included details suggesting Apple employees are working on the project at a top secret location in the Bay Area.

Rumors and speculation suggest Apple's car campus might be located in Sunnyvale, California , just minutes from the company's main 1 Infinite Loop Campus in Cupertino. Campus where Apple leases office space, via San Jose Mercury News Apple officially leases several known buildings at the Sunnyvale location, but it is also said to be operating out of a shell company at the site, SixtyEight Research. SixtyEight Research claims to be a market research firm, but has received city permits for the construction of an "auto work area" and a "repair garage," and "motor" noises have been heard from the spot late at night. It is not known if the rumors of the car project being housed in Sunnyvale are accurate, but based on past information, development on the car is indeed taking place at a secret location outside of the company's main campus. Apple has been snapping up a lot of real estate in the Sunnyvale area, including an industrial building that was once a Pepsi bottling plant.

Several of the buildings potentially associated with Apple's car project have secret internal names referencing Greek mythological characters like Zeus, Rhea, and Athena, all of which are tangentially related to "titans" in Greek mythology, perhaps hinting that the buildings are related to "Project Titan." Building plans Apple filed with city officials suggest the company's Sunnyvale facility, codenamed "Rhea," is being used for something car related, with references to automotive terms like "lube bay," "wheel balancer," "tire changer," and "wheel sensor. Apple is also rumored to be operating a secret vehicle research and development lab in Berlin . The facility is said to employ between 15 and 20 men and women from the German automotive industry, all with backgrounds in engineering, software, hardware, and sales. The workers at the lab have all been described as "progressive thinkers" in their fields. According to the CEO of a major Bay Area property company, Apple is looking for 800,000 square feet of real estate space near its Cupertino headquarters for autonomous car research and development facilities, in line with all of the real estate purchases Apple has made in recent months.

Didi Chuxing Investment In May of 2016, Apple invested $1 billion in Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing, which can be likened to Uber. Didi Chuxing dominates the ride-sharing industry in China with more than 80 percent market share. In July of 2016, Uber announced a merger between its operations in China and Didi Chuxing, further expanding Didi Chuxing's reach in the country and adding value to Apple's investment. Didi Chuxing could potentially be useful to Apple's car project in the future, serving as a data source for self-driving vehicles . If Apple does develop an autonomous car system, deploying it to Didi Chuxing drivers would give the company a wealth of knowledge to improve its self-driving algorithms. Apple's Auto-Related Domains In December of 2015, Apple registered three auto-related top-level domain names, including apple.car, apple.cars, and apple.auto. While the three domains could potentially be related to CarPlay, it's also possible Apple has saved the domains to be used in the future with an electric car or an autonomous car system.

Currently, the domains are not being used by Apple and do not contain any information. Release Date Apple Car rumors had suggested Apple was targeting a 2020 release date for the Apple Car, but now that Apple has ceased work on developing an actual car, the company's plans are in flux. Apple is now developing a self-driving car system, but there is no word on when it might debut. Apple executives have given the Project Titan team until 2017 to "prove the feasibility" of a self-driving car system. Project Titan and the Apple Car: The story so far Project Titan and the Apple Car: The story so far August 17, 2015 17:27 BST Apple's is hiring auto industry veterans for its Titan electric car projectReuters Since we last published an in-depth report into Apple's Project Titan autonomous car project seven months ago, the company's bank balance has grown by £15bn ($23bn) – enough to fund the entire development process of a completely new car several times over. Now, after a small misfire in the rumour mills, talk of an Apple car is back on the front pages.

But let us rewind briefly to that small misfire and look at where we are at today. Rumours of Apple producing its own car began at the start of 2015 ; they escalated quickly as talk of a secret new building near its California base led on to images of a mysterious Apple-registered van covered in sensors driving nearby. The Financial Times claimed CEO Tim Cook had given the car – known as Project Titan – the green light way back in September of 2014, when the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch were announced. His commands to project leader and former Ford engineer Steve Zadesky were to form a team of up to 1,000 employees and create a vehicle. Several employees were then poached from electric car company Tesla (and vice versa), then an anonymous email leaked to the press by an apparent Apple employee said the iCar would "change the landscape and give Tesla a run for its money". But then the house of cars came tumble down, as Apple itself announced it would be driving a fleet of vans through cities all over the world to collect images and data for its Maps applications.

Just as Google does with its famous Street View vans, Apple would be driving, scanning, photographing and mapping thousands of miles of roads. Photographs of the vans started to appear on Twitter and it looked as if that's what Project Titan was all along. Critics also pointed to Apple's CarPlay dashboard interface – available on a range of vehicles, from Ferraris to Seats – and said this was Apple's only project on wheels. Much more than advances with CarPlay, Project Titan is claimed to be an entire autonomous carApple But then the rumour mills changed up a gear In March 2015, German magazine Auto Motor und Sport claimed Apple was interested in using the BMW i3 as a starting point for its own electric car. But BMW denied this, stating: "We are in regular talks with companies from the IT and telecommunications sector, including Apple, concerning topics like connected vehicles. Developing or building a car is not a topic of these discussions." In July it was revealed that Apple had hired motoring industry veteran Doug Betts to work on Project Titan.

Betts has worked in the automotive industry for the past 28 years, holding positions at Michelin, Toyota, Nissan and Chrysler Group, where he was senior vice president of product and service quality for seven years. Apple is reportedly interested in using the BMW i3 as a starting pointIBTimes UK Starting at Apple in July 2015, Betts updated his LinkedIn profile to reflect the move, but gives no details about his role at the iPhone maker. The LinkedIn update simply states his position as "Operations – Apple Inc." and that he is based in the San Francisco Bay Area – where the tech company's global headquarters are located. Soon after his move to Apple was reported, Betts' LinkedIn profile was deleted. Less than a week later, German publication Manager Magazin said Cook had once again visited BMW and the production line for its i3 electric car in Leipzig, Germany. On this trip, the magazine's July issues claimed, Cook again showed an interest in using the i3 as a platform for Project Titan. It was claimed these negotiations began in the autumn of 2014, right after work on Project Titan began.

The talks broke down and the two companies parted ways, but promised to check in periodically with each other in the future. A car is being made – and it's further along than many realise On 14 August the Guardian made the strongest claim yet that Apple is building its own electric, autonomous car – and it is much closer to becoming a reality than anyone realised. The paper claimed Apple is seeking places to test its car and had made enquiries to GoMentum Station, a 5,000-acre site which is a former naval base near San Francisco being turned into an autonomous testing facility. Apple engineer Frank Fearon – LinkedIn page deleted, but believed to previously work at car company Lit Motors – wrote to GoMetum: "We would...like to get an understanding of timing and availability for the space, and how we would need to coordinate around other parties who would be using [it]." The quote was obtained by the Guardian under a public records act request and is the closest we have so far come to a smoking gun.

This could be where the autonomous Apple car is testing, the GoMentum Station in San FranciscoGoMentum Fearon also wrote: "We are hoping to see a presentation on the...testing grounds with a layout, photos, and a description of how the various areas of the grounds could be used." A tour of the facility by Apple was postponed in late May, with Jack Hall of GoMentum's autonomous vehicle programme writing to Fearon: "We would still like to meet in order to keep everything moving and to meet your testing schedule." 'We can't say any more, but Apple is interested' Randy Iwasaki, executive director of the Contra Costa Transportation Authority, owner of the GoMentum Station, said: "We had to sign a nondisclosure agreement with Apple. We can't tell you anything other than they've come in and they're interested." The site contains 20 miles of paved roads and claims to be "the largest secure test facility in the world and will become the centre of connected vehicle and autonomous vehicle research".

Honda is currently the only carmaker to become a partner of the GoMentum Station, signing a $250,000 (£160,000) memorandum of understanding with the facility to begin testing soon. With most major carmakers –and technology companies like Google and Uber – setting up autonomous driving research centres in California over the last 12 months, the list of companies secretly testing here is set to quickly grow. Whether Apple joins that list remains to be seen. More about Project Titan and the Apple car Project Titan, the Apple electric car project - Business Insider Blake Patterson / Flickr, CC Yesterday, we got our clearest sign yet that Apple is secretly developing an electric car, possibly at a facility in Ireland. Speaking at the Re/code tech conference, Apple executive Jeff Williams said that "the car is the ultimate mobile device" in response to a question about what industries the company is exploring. Williams went on to frame his comment as relating to Apple's in-car media platform Car Play, so it's not a cast-iron confirmation that Apple is looking into automotive technology. But the Cupertino company was also making similarly vague statements about the "wrist" long before the Apple Watch was officially announced.

Same thing with the "wallet," which presaged the launch of Apple Pay. And over the last several months, there has been a wealth of rumours, leaks and allegations about Apple's alleged automotive ambitions. Here is a summary: It's codenamed "Project Titan" Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images One of the earliest credible reports on the rumoured Apple Car came from the Wall Street Journal in February . Citing "a person familiar with its work," the Journal reported that Apple has hundreds of people working on an electric car, codenamed "Project Titan." It's being headed up by VP Steve Zadesky , a veteran of Ford who helped build the first iPod, and reportedly "resembles a minivan." A report in the Financial Times the same week provided further details . Zadesky has apparently been making trips to Austria — potentially to find a manufacturing partner. One source told the FT that "three months ago I would have said it was CarPlay ... Today I think it’s a car." Development is underway in Cupertino — and Ireland The current Apple facility in Cork, Apple.REUTERS/Michael MacSweeney The development of Project Titan is reportedly at a secretive facility away from Apple's main Cupertino campus.

Apple Insider also claims to have found a secretive Apple development facility in the area , which includes an "auto work area" and a "repair garage." Apple may also be planning at least part of the car's manufacturing in Ireland. The company is significantly increasing its presence in Cork, Ireland , where it is planning a massive new factory complex. And a job listing for a managerial role at Apple's Cork office asks for experience in the "automotive" industry. Recent hires point to one thing Recent hires by Apple — and their legal repercussions — lend more credibility to the possibility of an Apple electric car. Earlier this month, Apple settled a lawsuit brought against it by A123 Systems — a large-scale battery company that alleges Apple poached its employees to develop its own battery technology. These employees include Mujeeb Ijaz, the former CTO of A123, where he had specific responsibility for producing batteries for Formula 1 racing cars "with unparallelled power density." He previously worked form 16 years at Ford, and after being hired by Apple, poached his former A123 coworkers to join the Cupertino company, the lawsuit alleged.

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk.REUTERS/Rebecca Cook Apple and Tesla are also currently locked in a battle for talent , with Apple offering $250,000 signing bonuses and huge salary increases to engineers who have worked at the electric car company. Additionally, Apple is also hiring robotics engineers to work "in a unique development team." Some naysayers argue that Apple isn't interested in building an Apple car — just in providing the software for them. But numerous recent hires of individuals with decades of deep experience in the automotive hardware business suggests otherwise. 9to5Mac's Jordan Kahn has put together an extensive list of these recent Apple hires that have experience in the hardware and electric battery business . These include Robert Gough, who previously worked on car safety systems; John Ireland, who has worked at Tesla and before that as a researcher at Ireland's National Renewable Energy Laboratory; and David Perner, who previously worked as an engineer on hybrid engines at Ford. "Evident by this long list of automotive experts," Kahn writes, "it’s clear Apple’s ambitions go well beyond just its iOS-based CarPlay in-dash system.

Well beyond software too." Apple vehicles have been seen in the wild A photo of an "Apple van" sent in by Business Insider reader Robert Avallone.Robert Avallone/BI There have been numerous citings of mysterious vans registered to Apple all across America in the last several months , outfitted with an unusual camera rig. These cars are not built by Apple — they are Dodge Caravans. But opinion is split over the cameras on the roofs. Some believe that it's just mapping, a potential precursor to an Apple Street View product. But others argue that it could be an experiment with self-driving car technology being tested in the wild. Industry chatter is growing There's also growing discussion within the industry about the rumoured Project Titan. The Apple Car has been common knowledge for months in certain tech circles, according to Bryan Chaffin from The Mac Observer , who says "a lot of people at the top in Silicon Valley consider it a given that Apple is working on a car." The CEO of Fiat-Chrysler also recently said that Apple CEO Tim Cook is "interested in an intervention in the car," following a meeting.

(It's significant in itself that the CEO met with Cook, as the other two tech companies he met with — Tesla and Google — are both openly and actively involved in cutting edge automotive technology.) It gels with executive interests The Ford concept car designed by Marc Newson. flickr/davepinter Multiple senior Apple employees also have significant interest in the automotive industry. The late Apple cofounder and CEO Steve Jobs always wanted to build a car, telling The New York Times before he died "that if he had more energy, he would have liked to take on Detroit with an Apple car." Apple design chief Jony Ive, recently promoted to the newly-created position of Apple Design Chief, has been complaining about American cars for years. Ive owns a number of classic cars, according to a New Yorker profile earlier this year, and feels "disappointed with most modern cars." As part of his promotion he will "travel more" — giving him more leeway to visit Apple's new manufacturing facility in Ireland. Ive is joined in his distaste for modern cars by his old friend Marc Newson, a legendary designer. Newson has previously designed a concept car for Ford — and in Autumn last year, he finally joined Apple .

In an interview last year, Apple CEO Tim Cook said "there are products we're working on that no-one knows about ... And part of some of those are going to come out and be blow-away probably." We won't see a commercial model for several years Despite the slew of recent news, we shouldn't expect to see an official announcement — much less an actual release — for some time. The Project Titan research facility was only set up last year, so assuming Apple does decide to bring the electric car to market, a commercial roll-out will still be several years away. If you have any information about the Apple car, please contact rprice@businessinsider.com. We will treat your communication in confidence. Apple's Car Project Could Be A $50 Billion Opportunity In The U.S., Says Analyst Apple's Car Project Could Be A $50 Billion Opportunity In The U.S., Says Analyst {{article.article.images.featured.caption}} Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Full Bio The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer. Loading ... Loading ... This story appears in the {{article.article.magazine.pretty_date}} issue of {{article.article.magazine.pubName}}.

Subscribe currently has a few hundred employees that are working on an electric vehicle project code-named "," according to several reports. The prototypes of the automotive project appear to be in the form of minivans , which have been spotted throughout New York and California. It may be several years until Apple has a vehicle on the road, but there is speculation about the impact that the Cupertino giant could make on the automotive sector. Gene Munster, a managing director and senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray, said that the U.S. car market may represent a $50 billion revenue opportunity for Apple. Munster cited data from Edmunds that revealed 16.4 million new vehicles were sold in America last year. And TrueCar reported that the average selling price of a vehicle in the U.S. was slightly over $31,000 in the month of August. This means that the U.S. car market is valued at over $500 billion. Apple’s vehicles could generate $50 billion in new revenue if it achieves “moderate success” — which he defined as about 10% of the U.S.

car market, a 23% increase of Munster’s current estimates for Apple’s fiscal year 2015. "We believe the potential for a car gives investors something, along with the Watch and TV, to look at as the big thing for Apple," said Munster via AppleInsider . "We believe this hope should be positive for the multiple on shares of AAPL and help support the stock over the next six months." Before Apple announced the Apple Watch wearable, many investors were concerned about the lack of new product categories, but Munster said that Wall Street has been receptive to an Apple vehicle. When will be able to buy an Apple car? Keep in mind that Apple's "Titan" project may not result in a final product. Apple is known for building dozens of projects, but only releases the ones that have the most potential. However, there are hundreds of employees assigned to the "Titan" automotive project so Apple must be serious about it. Apple CEO Tim Cook approved the car project around a year ago and placed Steve Zadesky in charge. Zadesky is a former engineer at Ford that led teams at Apple involved in the iPhone and iPod.

Zadesky was given the authority to set up a 1,000 person team and pull in employees from other divisions. Last year, Apple hired the former president and chief executive of R&D North America Johann Jungwirth and industrial designer Marc Newson, who created a concept car for Ford. The WSJ reported that several Apple executives also flew to Austria recently to meet with contract manufacturers working on high-end vehicles, including Magna International’s Magna Steyr unit. Regardless of whether Apple builds a car, its software will still have a major presence inside the vehicles of the largest auto manufacturers. Apple launched CarPlay to offer iOS device functionality on top of in-car control systems last year. There are over two dozen auto companies that are planning to install CarPlay in their vehicles. Apple CarPlay / Credit: Apple The Next 5 Years In Walter Isaacson’s biography of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, it was revealed that the company is also working on a television.

According to Fortune , Munster sent out a note to his clients on Saturday saying: “While we believe Apple can do both a TV and a car, it seems far more likely that we get a TV from Apple in the next five years than a car.” In the note, Munster said that the profit margins on cars are even thinner than on televisions. And TVs fit better into Apple’s hardware, software and services framework than cars do. What are your thoughts about an Apple-branded car? Let us know in the comments section below!

Question: Titan is the project codename for Apple's development?
Answer: iCar