How the electric self-driving Apple car could look, based on patents

Apple has been more tight-lipped than usual about its plans for an electric and self-driving car, a secretive operation dubbed Project Titan. But that doesn’t mean we can’t imagine what the iPhone-maker would cook up for its first car.

Car leasing company Vanarama decided to take the Apple aesthetic from iPhones, MacBooks, and other products and combine that with real patents filed by Apple to concoct an imagined Apple Car. Their creation is entirely speculative, but it does rely on patent filings. Patents do not guarantee that a company is building something, but are a good indicator that they are researching something.

More Apple logos on the wheels.
Credit: Vanarama

Last month Bloomberg reported that Apple is moving along with its electric car plans, and hoping to have something available as soon as 2025. The report said Apple is aiming for a bare interior without a steering wheel or pedals for a true self-driving experience.

While Vanarama (a British company, so the car is a right-hand driving system) still has a steering wheel in its renderings, it also envisions the seats fully rotating so that the interior transforms into a living room setup. 

Another patent discusses removing door pillars for a very open design.

Open up.

Credit: Vanarama

Time for a hang.

Credit: Vanarama

There’s also a massive dashboard that has a very minimal design that Apple fans will find familiar. 

A dashboard bigger than any iPad.
Credit: Vanarama

A crucial Apple design touch is Siri built into the car. You’ll notice the usual Siri screen built into the steering wheel. This is based on a patent for an “intelligent automated assistant.” It wouldn’t be an Apple car without Siri. 

And in case you didn’t catch on that this was an Apple car, there’s a glowing Apple logo (like the one on its laptops) in the center grille, and others spotted throughout the EV. There’s nothing in Apple’s patents suggesting they’ll include these, but given Apple’s affinity for its own logo the idea isn’t too far-fetched.