The Apple Car was once one of the most highly-anticipated Apple products of all time. For a decade, rumors about the secretive Apple electric vehicle project made headlines in tech publications and Apple blogs.
Then, just weeks ago, news broke that Apple officially killed the project known as Project Titan. There will be no Apple Car.
Now, Bloomberg‘s Apple insider, Mark Gurman, has some very interesting details about what the Apple Car would have looked like. And, reader, it’s nothing like you would have imagined.
Apple was working on a minivan
Try to think of what an EV made by Apple would have looked like. Are you thinking of a potential Tesla competitor? Maybe a sleek, sexy sports cars?
You’d be wrong.
Apple was working on a minivan, according to a report by Bloomberg‘s Gurman.
The Apple Car went through several design iterations in the decade it was under development, Gurman says. However, each one of them is heavily influenced by minivan designs by automobile manufacturers over the years.
Credit: Sjoerd van der Wal/Getty Images
The initial concept for the Apple Car was created by the company’s iconic designer, Jony Ive, who left Apple in 2019. That Apple Car design was dubbed the “Bread Loaf” internally at the company. Why? Because it looked like a “modern incarnation” of the 1950s Volkswagen microbus.
If you’re not familiar with the Volkswagen microbus, also known as the VW Type 2 or VW Camper or Vanagon, you almost definitely know what it looks like. It’s the VW van typically portrayed as being driven by hippies in the 60s or by touring rock bands from that era. It’s the yellow van used in the 2006 film, Little Miss Sunshine starring Steve Carrell, Abigail Breslin, and Toni Collette.
A Volkswagen camper-inspired design
Later versions of the Apple Car changed the design somewhat, but the old school Volkswagen minivan-inspired aesthetic remained.
The second Apple Car design, according to Gurman, looked “nearly identical” to the 2017 Volkswagen ID Buzz prototype. This EV concept car was also inspired by the VW microbus, albeit with a more modern design, with a sloped hood. Interestingly, Gurman mentions that this Apple Car design came before Volkswagen announced its 2017 prototype.
Credit: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Apple Car went through some more minor changes over the years before landing on its most recent design concept from 2020. According to Gurman, that last Apple Car design resembled a vehicle by the California-based electric car company, Canoo.
The last version of the Apple Car resembled the Canoo Lifestyle Vehicle, which Gurman describes as a “futuristic van with rounded edges.” Taking a look at the Canoo EV, it certainly does look like something you’d imagine for Apple’s take on a minivan. The front and back of the vehicle would also look exactly the same, so the Apple Car would’ve always looked like it was driving forward.
Credit: Canoo
One of the last design change-ups to this version of the Apple Car was to trade in sliding doors commonly found on a minivan for gull-wing doors.
As for the interior, Apple was going for a minimalist design with a focus on roominess for the occupants of the vehicle. It could’ve potentially included TVs and/or iPads for FaceTime and video playback, a special A/C system that would flow air through the sides of the vehicle, and a reclining, private jet-esque seating design with swiveling front seats.
According to Gurman’s report, Apple executives including CEO Tim Cook were big fans of the last design. But, ultimately, the company decided to pull the plug on the Apple Car — and all we’re left with are these reports about what could have been.
