The past few months have seen an explosion in rumours surrounding the much-mooted Apple Car, but a new report suggests the prospect might actually be more than hearsay.
An in-depth article by AppleInsider suggests the Apple Car is already a work-in-progress, and it claims to know where the research and development might be taking place.
According to ‘two people familiar with knowledge of the project’, Apple is making use of its leased Sunnyvale, California campus to create the car.
“According to one AppleInsider source familiar with ‘Titan’, many of Apple’s new auto-related hires, including recruits from Tesla, have been working out of the Sunnyvale campus,” wrote AppleInsider.
“This person claims that some of the projects underway there have been kept ‘very secret within the company.’
There’s nothing secretive about Apple’s presence at the Sunnyvale site, however the report details how another company working at there could be up to more than meets the eye.
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SixtyEight Research is a self-proclaimed ‘innovative company’ that is ‘redifining market research’, and it's based at the Sunnyvale campus.
What’s interesting about this is that SixtyEight Research has almost no presence online, and no one really knows what it actually does.
“SixtyEight’s affiliation could not be confirmed,” continued the report, “but Apple does have a long history of using shell corporations and deceptive methods to hide its secret projects. Aside from a barren website, there is scant other information about SixtyEight – lending more credence to its use as a front.”
“It wouldn’t be a stretch to surmise that SixtyEight could play a role in allowing Apple to purchase and import automotive equipment and tools without drawing any suspicion.”
The report also details how employees approach the site with Apple badges scrubbed of the official Apple branding.
What’s more, certain buildings on the site have been giving permits for automotive work and repair areas.
Unfortunately, there’s no way of telling for sure what Apple is cooking up at the Sunnyvale campus, and it declined to comment on the story.
