Rumors about the Apple car have been swirling around for almost two years, but the product is still a few years away. No one really knows what the final product would look like. But that has not stopped concept designers from imagining its design. We have already seen a few interesting concepts in the past. Now folks at Click Mechanic have churned out five different Apple car concepts – each of them inspired by some of Apple’s most iconic products.
Five different Apple car concepts
The first concept, iCar Macintosh, is inspired by the original Macintosh released in 1984. The retro car has the plastic feel of the original Mac with its “big, square, and angular features.” Click Mechanic says irrespective of its design, the Apple car would look and perform like no other vehicle.
The second concept, iCar G3, was inspired by Mac G3. The concept designers imagine it in five different flavors: strawberry, grape, lime, blueberry, and tangerine. The concept car has rounded edges, and its engine is visible through the back. Click Mechanic says the car is perfect for the city, thanks to its small size. You can easily park it in tight spaces.
The iCar Power is inspired by the PowerBook G4. It has an industrial-looking, study design with anodized aluminum alloy. Unlike the iCar G3, it is built to transport heavy loads.
And then there is iCar Air, which draws inspiration from the super-slim MacBook Air. It has the design of a sports car. The iCar Air can go from zero to “incredible high speeds” in a matter of seconds.
Finally, the iCar 7 is based on the latest iPhone 7. It’s an electric car that can go “hundreds of miles” on a single charge. It has a smooth, glossy, jet black finish, rounded edges, and a slightly rectangular shape.
Apple focusing on self-driving technology
Apple has assembled a team of more than a thousand engineers and experts to work on its secretive Project Titan. In a letter sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in November, Apple acknowledged for the first time that it was investing heavily in self-driving cars. The Cupertino company has also registered automobile-related domain names such as Apple.car and Apple.auto.
The tech giant recently hired Alexander Hitzinger, the technical director of Porsche’s race car program, to work on the Project Titan. Hitzinger was involved in the development of the 919 hybrid sports car. Apple’s patent filings indicate that the Apple car would have a collision avoidance system that can detect and avoid both stationary and moving objects nearby.
The tech giant was previously working on a full-fledged car. But it had to shift focus to developing the underlying technology first after several key departures. It is rumored that Apple would partner with an existing automaker to build the cars.
