Talk of Apple launching its own car, powered by batteries and offering a high level of autonomous driving capability, dates back to 2014. The car, commonly referred to as Project Titan, has remained shrouded in secrecy for the most part, with orders continuing of patents related to automobiles and the recruitment of professionals in the automotive sector fueling rumors over the years.
Project Titan appears to have finally reached the end of the road, with Bloomberg reporting late last month that the project it was canceled. Furthermore, The New York Times reported at the same time that Apple spent more than $10 billion on the ill-fated project.
In a follow-up report published this week, Bloomberg detailed some of the designs Apple had for its car. According to the publication’s sources, the main design resembled a van from the EV startup Canoo, known as the lifestyle vehicle (main shown).
The design reportedly featured identical front and rear ends, much like the Canoo, and was dubbed the Bread Loaf by experts. An alternative design would have been a more conventional van with similar styling to the concept that Volkswagen rolled launched in 2017 to visualize the ID.Buzz 2025 electric van. There were also tricks, such as gull-wing doors, according to Bloomberg sources.
Volkswagen ID Buzz concept, 2017 Detroit Auto Show
The design constantly evolved, especially for the interior that would have capacity for four people. The front seats were designed so they could flip backwards to create a lounge-like experience. The original interior also lacked a steering wheel and pedals, as Apple intended to offer fully autonomous driving capabilities, according to Bloomberg. However, these were necessary for later projects after Apple gave up in an attempt to design a car that could drive itself.
In addition to the technological challenges, as well as the cold reality of how challenging it is to build and sell cars, something Toyota president Akio Toyoda said warned Apple about In 2021, Project Titan was also held back by indecision and disagreement over the direction the project should take, according to Bloomberg.
In 2019, appliance giant Dyson, best known for its line of bagless vacuum cleaners, also dropped out launching your own car, despite the project having reached a late stage of development. There were also several companies in the self-driving technology sector that came and went during the time Apple was developing its car, such as Argo AI and Uber Advanced Technology Group.