Apple has reportedly hired a long-time executive of Lamborghini in the latest sign that the iPhone maker is stepping up its efforts to develop its long-rumoured self-driving vehicle.
Luigi Taraborrelli has been brought in to lead the design of what is known as Project Titan, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with Mr Taraborrelli's hiring.
He has been part of the Italian luxury sports car maker since 2001 and stepped down from his role as the head of research and development for chassis and vehicle dynamics in May, his LinkedIn profile says.
Apple declined to comment on the hiring, Bloomberg said.
Information on Apple's electric car has been sparse and the company is famously tight-lipped when it comes to future product plans.
Chief executive Tim Cook in 2021 told The New York Times that self-driving technology was being worked on but declined to go into specifics.
“We’ll see what Apple does,” he said at the time.
Development, however, is gaining traction, with a number of high-profile hirings being made. In June 2021, Apple hired Ulrich Kranz, a former senior executive in BMW’s electric car division. Before that, the company brought in Stuart Bowers, the former head of Tesla's Autopilot software.
Conversely, Jony Ive, Apple's design guru who is credited with the recognisable designs of the company's products, signed up with Ferrari last year to help the Italian sports car maker develop its first electric car.
Apple's car project is currently being led by Kevin Lynch, who is also responsible for the Apple Watch and health software teams, and John Giannandrea, Apple's head of machine learning.
Apple's electric car has been reported to be fully autonomous and designed without a steering wheel or pedals.
Some major electric vehicle manufacturers have already introduced driverless cars without steering wheels, including General Motors' Bolt EV in 2018 and a Tesla Model 3 in 2019.
However, questions on their safety have been a nagging issue, with a series of accidents — including fatalities — involving some big names.
Last month in the US, authorities escalated an investigation into 200 crashes involving Tesla's Autopilot technology.
In March, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration changed a rule to allow companies to deliver vehicles without steering wheels or pedals. The levels of vehicle autonomy run from 0 to 5, with the last not requiring steering wheels or pedals.
This rule could be advantageous for companies in terms of costs and materials, as it will allow them to retrofit existing vehicles instead of building new ones.
The global autonomous car market is expected to grow to 62.4 million units by 2030 from 20.3 million units in 2021 at a compound annual rate of 13.3 per cent, data from MarketsandMarkets showed.
The sector's value is expected to grow more than 31 per cent and exceed $11.03 billion through 2028, Fortune Business Insights reported.
Apple's products — most notably the iPhone, iPad and Mac computers — have been influential and are considered a benchmark in the industry.
It is unclear, however, if the company will be able to transfer its consumer electronics expertise into a more niche market such as electric cars, as the competition is increasingly fierce.
Apple is believed to have first begun work on an electric car in 2014, with an aim to introduce it by 2025.
Green ambitions
- Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
- Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
- Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
- Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water
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Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
More on animal trafficking
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Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
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The biog
Favourite books: 'Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life' by Jane D. Mathews and ‘The Moment of Lift’ by Melinda Gates
Favourite travel destination: Greece, a blend of ancient history and captivating nature. It always has given me a sense of joy, endless possibilities, positive energy and wonderful people that make you feel at home.
Favourite pastime: travelling and experiencing different cultures across the globe.
Favourite quote: “In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders” - Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook.
Favourite Movie: Mona Lisa Smile
Favourite Author: Kahlil Gibran
Favourite Artist: Meryl Streep
The%20specs
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The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
