Apple stocks are at a new high after reports that the Californian tech giant will have its first electric car on the market by 2025. These images, stitched together by commercial vehicle experts Vanarama, suggest what it might look like, using patents filed by Apple themselves. Like the iPod, iPhone and iPad, what we may as well call the iCar resembles nothing else on the market. Radical and game-changing are what Apple does best and at first glance, the iCar is very much in that mould.
Upper structure is pillarless for unrivalled visibility. It's a hard-to-achieve production feat commonly found on concept cars. Don't put it past Apple to pull it off. A patent for just this is among those filed. Colourway on this rendering is Frost White, the key shade on all early Apple products and still preferred by diehard aficionados. A glowing Apple logo upfront identifies you as an early adopter, at the centre of a grille said to be inspired by the vents on the MacBook Pro.
Rear coach style doors allow maximum room for entry and the interior features seats able to swivel 180º, suggesting a large degree of self-driving capability. Indeed, the Bloomberg News report that caused such stock market excitement said Apple's ideal would be to do away with pedals and steering wheel entirely, leaving the iCar's computers to do all the hard work. It's a classically clean sheet Apple approach: to do what no-one else has quite dared to, yet.
Apple's style is always minimal. The feel of the iCar's suggested interior takes that approach to new heights. A patent for seamless displays allows the iCar's occupants to configure the dashboard as they choose, while a built-in version of Apple's voice assistant, Siri, would control the car. Vanarama's rendering includes a steering wheel. Will we get to a point where that’s an optional extra?
Could it really happen? Apple call their long-standing electric car ambitions Project Titan, a project underway since 2014 that's had many setbacks. Manufacturing cars is, in every way, harder than anything else the American brand has done. All of that said - and looking at how extraordinary the Apple car might look - no-one should bet against Cupertino's finest. Tesla, watch out.
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