Less than a fortnight after reports that Apple had laid off a large number of employees from it's Titan Automotive project, the Financial Times reports Apple has been linked with a £1.5bn (AUD$2.5bn) deal to buy McLaren Technology Group, the Formula One team owner and supercar maker, citing three unnamed sources.
Apple has been attempting to develop its own car for a while now with the car team said to boast upwards of 800 members before the recent layoffs took effect, so this would appear to be a huge change of direction.
As far as electric vehicle IP is concerned, McLaren have good form. Not only have they built and raced their own A123 based KERS system in Formula One since 2009, and manufactured the McLaren P1 hybrid hyper car since 2013 but McLaren are also the official powertrain (motor, gearbox & power electronics) supplier for Formula E. On the embedded electronics side they also supply a control ECU to several motorsport championships including Formula One and NASCAR.
So far both companies have denied the story but there are obvious similarities between this potential tie-up between Apple & McLaren and the route Tesla Motors followed to get it's first car into production, working with another Formula One team with a sports car business, Lotus.
General Motors and Michelin are testing airless tires on a Chevy Bolt EV. Plans are revealed for a mid-sized Mercedes-Benz electric sedan. Tesla puts real cash pricing up front on its website. And our Twitter followers answer what matters most to them when fast-charging on an extended trip. All this and more on Green Car Reports. As transportation... 
![Tesla Model S Autopilot testing with IIHS [CREDIT: IIHS]](https://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/tesla-model-s-autopilot-testing-with-iihs-credit-iihs_100665436_t.gif)
Tesla has long been called the Apple of automakers for its alternative approach, its rampant fan base, and its Silicon Valley roots. But the interest could go deeper. Financial analyst Craig Irwin of Roth Capital Partners revealed Tuesday that Apple tried to buy Tesla in 2013, but was rebuffed. He said that the tech company bid $240 a share for... 
California begins fighting back against the EPA's fuel economy freeze. Austria proposes letting electric cars drive faster. Hyundai recalls Ioniqs. And BMW builds a new battery assembly line for its upcoming electric cars. All this and more on Green Car Reports. California issued a pointed 400-page rebuttal to the EPA's plan to freeze fuel economy... 
Last year, techies, auto journalists, and Apple fans spent a great deal of time debating the existence, technology, and potential prospects of an "Apple car" project that the company never officially acknowledged. The idea that Apple would move from fast-turn, high-volume, very profitable consumer electronics into long-cycle, insanely expensive... 
It appears that Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak—also known as "Woz"—is getting his 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV after all. In September, the car's chief engineer, Josh Tavel, showed Woz a pre-production version of the Bolt EV, and took him for a ride. Woz seemed to like what he saw. DON'T MISS: Woz got a Tesla, not a Chevy Bolt EV... 
For the past couple of years, rumors about a potential Apple Car have garnered as much attention as any new product from an established automaker. Which is impressive, because Apple never confirmed the existence of the car—often called "Project Titan" and thought to be an autonomous vehicle with an all-electric powertrain. Whatever plans... 
One of the biggest news stories in the automotive industry has been a car that still isn't officially confirmed to exist. It's "Project Titan," Apple's much-discussed project to allegedly develop an electric car. Now, reports out of South Korea indicate that the most unusual feature of this rumored electric car—if it exists—could very... 
Over the past few years, a common refrain among analysts and pundits has been that the future of the U.S. car industry lies not in Detroit, but in Silicon Valley. With their nimbleness and more aggressive attitudes, as well as expertise with emerging technologies related to autonomous driving and connectivity, tech companies will soon give... 
Over the last five years, much has been written about autonomous-car efforts from Apple and Google. Could these two massively successful Silicon Valley startups overturn the established order in the global auto industry? The answer remains to be seen, but this month brought news that both companies are restructuring their efforts. DON'T MISS: 2017...