Could the Apple Car Be Inspired by the BMW i3?

Rumors state that Apple wants to establish a presence on the driverless smart car market by 2020. Consequently, the company probably has a sizeable team working on its upcoming Apple Car, including Chrysler’s own Doug Betts, who was hired not too long ago. However, Apple was initially looking to partner up with BMW in order to manufacture the Apple Car following the design of the i3 electric car. Even though initial negotiations have failed, Apple’s Tim Cook visited the German automaker’s factory in Leipzig and was reportedly “impressed” with the carbon fiber electric-powered i3.

According to BMW’s chief production officer, Oliver Zipse, the company is keeping an open line of communication with the world’s most important tech companies, and it is still open to collaboration with Apple. Even if Apple’s experts eventually decide to give up on the i3 as a base for their own car, their initial interest still gives us a pretty good idea of the kind of concept that they are looking for. So judging by what we’ve seen so far, the Apple Car will probably be a compact, electric-powered vehicle that could include a specially designed Apple OS. Some of the most impressive features of the BMW i3 include rear suicide doors and the ability to slow down by using kinetic energy stored in the wheels.

Thank you TechSpot for providing us with this information.