Apple’s eagerly awaited contribution to electric cars has been hovering above the horizon like a heat mirage since the beginning of 2014, when rumors about it were first reported.

The Apple Car is a potential project that could be California’s largest yet. However, very little information has been released about its plans.

However, there are signs that the company is making progress, including ongoing testing of the self-driving technology around Cupertino using a fleet sensor-laden Lexus SUVs and the filing of a variety of patents.

These are the key insights that experts used to predict the Apple Car’s design and revolutionary features, which could include a touchscreen dashboard or a Siri-like “intelligent assistant” (intelligent).

Brought to life by artists with the UK car leasing firm Vanarama, the gorgeous mock-up has the sleek, minimalist lines that make Apple’s tech offerings so distinctive, down to the glowing Apple logo on the radiator grille.

Like a heat mirage shimmering over the road ahead, Apple's much-awaited contribution to the electric car market has been teasing us from the horizon since rumours of its development first emerged back in late 2014

Apple’s eagerly awaited contribution to electric cars has been shimmering like a heat mirage over the road ahead ever since early 2014, when rumours first surfaced.

As imagined by Vanarama's artists, the sleek vehicle's interior sports a sweeping, customisable, tactile touchscreen interface in place of a conventional dashboard

Vanarama’s designers imagined a sleek interior with a customisable and tactile touchscreen interface instead of a traditional dashboard.

Pictured: a diagram from Apple's patent for a reconfigurable in-vehicle instrument panel display. Unlike in Vanarama's reconstruction, the one depicted in the patent only covers part of the dashboard

A diagram taken from Apple’s patent depicting a reconfigurable instrument panel display in an automobile. The patent depicts only a portion of Vanarama’s dashboard, which is not the case in Vanarama’s.

Vanarama experts have anticipated what the Apple Car could look like (pictured) and the features it might sport — from a customisable touchscreen dashboard to a Siri-like 'intelligent automated assistant' — based on real-life patent filings

Vanarama experts have anticipated what the Apple Car could look like (pictured) and the features it might sport — from a customisable touchscreen dashboard to a Siri-like ‘intelligent automated assistant’ — based on real-life patent filings

TIMELINE FOR THE APPLE CARR 

Although little information is available about the Apple Car’s development or progress, there are rumours that have been circulating for years: 

2008 — Then-Apple CEO Steve Jobs first expresses an interest in an Apple Car in the wake of both the launch of the original iPhone and the release of Tesla Motor’s first car, according to iPod inventor Tony Fadell and Apple board member Mickey Drexler.

2014 — An electric car project, codenamed ‘Titan’ is allegedly given the go-ahead by Apple CEO Tim Cook. 

2015 — Apple is said to have hired new employees for the project, alongside meeting with self-driving car experts and GoMentum Station, a California-based testing ground for autonomous vehicles. In a project called ‘Baja,’ the company hires Torc from Daimler Trucks to install sensors on two Lexus SUVs.

2016 — Bloomberg reports that Apple has decided to switch its priority over to developing software to power self-driving solutions. But sources claim that Apple is still seeking to create its own car.

2017 — Tim Cook acknowledges that Apple is working on self-driving technologies. There are rumours that Apple will test autonomous vehicles on California roads. 

2018 — Apple registers 27 self-driving cars with California’s Department of Motor Vehicles. Rumours suggest that the company will partner with Volkswagen in order to create an autonomous electric shuttle bus. A former Apple employee was charged with theft of trade secrets in relation to Titan. During road testing, an Apple self driving car was rearended by another vehicle in August.

2019 — Drive.ai, an autonomous vehicle start-up, is acquired by Apple.

2020 — Reuters reports that Apple is working towards a possible Apple Car launch in 2024. 

2021 — Industry scuttlebutt has it that Apple is in talks with Hyundai and Kia to jointly produce self-driving electric cars, but the vehicle manufacturers deny this. More rumours emerge of a 2024 launch goal — this time in collaboration with Toyota and its Korean partners.

Andy Alderson CEO Vanarama, said that “rumours of an Apple-designed car started in 2014” and has gained momentum ever since.

“It’s a huge deal in the automotive industry, as well as beyond. Here at Vanarama, we are eager to see the Apple Car.”

To give us an idea, I searched the official Apple patents. Then I combined the aesthetics and design cues that we have come to expect from Apple. This is how we envision the Apple car. 

“Although it is impossible to predict what the final product will look like without patents, they are likely the most reliable indicator of the direction Apple is going.”

The stand-out patented concept that seems most likely to be realised in the Apple Car is a sleek touchscreen interface — one which Vanarama has imagined sweeping across the totality of the vehicle’s dashboard.

According to the patent, the interface will offer tactile feedback and will be both ‘stylistically attractive’ and fully ‘customizable by the user’.

Apple calls it the ‘Reconfigurable Tactile Control Display. It is also cheaper than conventional instrument panels. This could make it useful in many other areas such as control systems for military vehicles and home automation systems. 

The mockup of Apple’s car shows the vehicle without clear boundaries. Vanarama proposes that the dashboard could detect the occupants’ smartwatches or phones to load customized interface layouts and suggest possible destinations using satnav-based mapping. It might even create custom playlists for each step.

A number of other patents, meanwhile, hint at the potential for the Apple Car to have an unusual car body structure, with no central door pillars and rear coach doors — such as seen on some Lincoln Continentals and the modern Rolls-Royce Ghost — allowing for easier passenger entry via a ‘continuous opening’.

The forward seat of the vehicle is envisioned as being capable of swiveling fully around to face passengers at the back. These are then separated by a table-like divider.

The internal flexibility of this car could allow for a social travel experience, even when it is self-driving. However, the driver can still turn the wheel and take control if necessary.

Alongside the expectations of an autonomous mode for the Apple Car, another patent hints at a Siri-like ‘intelligent automated assistant’ that — alongside responding to direct commands and requests — would also be able to monitor the vehicle’s environment and either react or offer recommendations to the driver accordingly.

'Rumours of a car created by Apple started as early as 2014 and have gained momentum since,' said Vanarama CEO Andy Alderson. 'It has become a big deal in the car industry and beyond, and here at Vanarama we were eager to see what the Apple Car could look like'

Andy Alderson from Vanarama, CEO of Vanarama, stated that the rumours surrounding an Apple-designed car started in 2014. They have grown momentum ever since. It has been a huge deal within the automotive industry, as well as elsewhere. Vanarama was eager to discover what the Apple Car might look like.

A number of patents unearthed by Vanarama hint at the potential for the Apple Car to have an unusual car body structure, with no central door pillars and rear coach doors (as pictured) — such as seen on some Lincoln Continentals and the modern Rolls-Royce Ghost — allowing for easier passenger entry via a 'continuous opening'

A number of patents unearthed by Vanarama hint at the potential for the Apple Car to have an unusual car body structure, with no central door pillars and rear coach doors (as pictured) — such as seen on some Lincoln Continentals and the modern Rolls-Royce Ghost — allowing for easier passenger entry via a ‘continuous opening’

Pictured: Apple patent US10309132B1 for a passenger vehicle body with a rear carriage door and no central door pillars

Apple patent US10309132B1 depicts a passenger vehicle with a rear door carriage door and no central door support pillars.

Pictured: Apple patent US10384519B1 for an adaptive door positioning system with a rear carriage door and no central pillars

Apple patent US10384519B1 – An adaptive door positioning system using a rear carriagedoor and without central pillars

The vehicle's forward seating is imagined as able to swivel fully round to face the passengers in the rear of the car, who in turn are separated by a sleek, table-like divider. This flexibility could facilitate a more social travelling experience when the car is in self-driving mode, while still allowing the occupant of the driver's seat to turn around and retake control when required

Imagine the forward seat being able to pivot fully to face the rear passengers. They are divided by a sleek table-shaped divider. This flexible design could allow for more people to travel when the car’s self-driving function is activated. However, the driver can still turn the wheel and take control of the vehicle when necessary.

Vanarama created the radiator grill at the front of their mockup in order to replicate the ventilation holes of the Mac Pro servers and workstations.

The centre of the grill, meanwhile, is bedecked with a backlit Apple logo — as long adorned the lids of many MacBook models — a motif replicated on the steering column, leather headrests, rear lights and wheel hubs. 

You can see Vanarama’s 3D rendering of the Apple Car via its virtual product reveal on their website.

The centre of the grill (pictured), is bedecked with a backlit Apple logo — as long adorned the lids of many MacBook models

Tthe radiator grill on the front of the mock-up is designed to mirror the 'cheese grater' ventilation holes on the case of the Mac Pro workstations and servers (pictured

Vanarama’s artists created the radiator grill at the front of this mockup to match the ventilation holes in the Mac Pro servers and workstations (right).

Alongside the expectations of an autonomous mode for the Apple Car, another patent hints at a Siri-like 'intelligent automated assistant' that — alongside responding to direct commands and requests — would also be able to monitor the vehicle's environment and either react or offer recommendations to the driver accordingly

Alongside the expectations of an autonomous mode for the Apple Car, another patent hints at a Siri-like ‘intelligent automated assistant’ that — alongside responding to direct commands and requests — would also be able to monitor the vehicle’s environment and either react or offer recommendations to the driver accordingly

'We searched for official patents filed by Apple itself and combined them with the design cues and aesthetics we've come to expect from the tech company. The result is our vision of the Apple car,' explained Mr Alderson

“We sought out official patents that Apple had filed and combined these with design cues and aesthetics that we have come to expect from Apple. Alderson explained that the result was our vision for an Apple car.

'Although there is virtually no way of knowing what the finished [Apple Car] product will look like, these patents are perhaps the best indication as to the direction Apple is taking,' Mr Alderson concluded

“Although it is almost impossible to know what the final product will look like, [Apple Car]These patents may be the most accurate indication of the direction Apple will take, Mr Alderson stated.

WHO WILL TAKE THE POLE POSITION IN APPLE CAR? A COMPETITION MAY BE HELD BY GOOGLE OR SAMSUNG ABOUT THE APPLE CARR

INSIDE THE Google CAR 

Apple is not the only tech giant looking to enter the automobile market — with Google having conceived of fitted scaled-down wind turbine systems into car wing mirrors to help power on-board systems, Vanarama has reported.

This additional power could be fed, for example, into the onboard infotainment, navigation or temperature control systems — helping to reduce the demand on the (most likely) electric vehicle’s battery.

In the sketch below, Vanarama have imagined some of the features that might appear in a Google car — including a heads-up display on the forward windscreen, a Google Maps-eques navigation display and a steering wheel in the firm’s colours.

Google parent Alphabet has entered the autonomous driving arena via Waymo (another subsidiary of Google), which operates an autonomous taxi service within the Greater Phoenix area.

Pictured: Vanarama have also imagined some of the features that might appear in a Google car — including a heads-up display on the forward windscreen, a Google Maps-eques navigation display and a steering wheel in the firm's colours

Pictured: Vanarama have also imagined some of the features that might appear in a Google car — including a heads-up display on the forward windscreen, a Google Maps-eques navigation display and a steering wheel in the firm’s colours

INSIDE THE SAMSUNG CAMERA

While Apple might have been cooking up their automobile offering for more than a decade now and Alphabet is already ferrying people around Arizona in self-driving cabs, it would be foolish to underestimate Samsung’s potential, Vanarama have said — at least if some of their ambitious patents that might see automotive application are anything to go by.

One proposed technology includes an organic light emitting element that could possibly be used to lighten car interiors with natural light. Another option is a photosensitive resin which, when applied in layers can slowly breakdown to maintain pristine condition for many years. 

Vanarama has created an interior mockup for a Samsung vehicle. This includes a head-up 3D screen and a dashboard interface. The firm’s folding screen technology is used on Samsung Fold smartphones. A noninvasive biometric cuff can also be included to determine if drivers are too drunk to drive.

Pictured: In their mock-up of what a Samsung car interior might look like, Vanarama have imagined a heads-up 3D display, a dashboard interface that takes advantage of the firm's patented folding screen technology (as seen on the Samsung Fold suite of smartphones) and a non-invasive biometric cuff to assess whether drivers might be too drunk to drive

Pictured: In their mock-up of what a Samsung car interior might look like, Vanarama have imagined a heads-up 3D display, a dashboard interface that takes advantage of the firm’s patented folding screen technology (as seen on the Samsung Fold suite of smartphones) and a non-invasive biometric cuff to assess whether drivers might be too drunk to drive