Rumor: Apple in Talks to Acquire McLaren

After recently pumping the brakes on its rumored electric car project, Apple may now be ready to hit the gas again.

Word has it that Cupertino has been in talks for several months talks to buy British luxury sports car maker McLaren. The Financial Times, citing unnamed people "briefed on the negotiations," reports that Apple is mulling a full takeover or strategic investment.

At this point, details of the possible acquisition are scant, but FT's sources claim the automotive group is "likely to be valued at between £1bn and £1.5bn," which would make this Apple's largest acquisition since it shelled out $3 billion for Beats.

"Apple's interest in the Woking-based company centers on its technology, engineering prowess, and patent portfolio, according to people briefed on the talks," FT reports.

This is not a done deal, however, so we'll have to wait and see whether it actually comes to pass. The report notes that McLaren has been working on a self-driving electric vehicle "for more than two years," so this could really help Apple accelerate its own EV efforts. McLaren last year produced some 1,500 cars, which sell for as high as $1 million a pop.

Meanwhile, the news follows recent rumors that Apple's car project had hit a roadblock. The New York Times earlier this month said Cupertino recently "laid off dozens" of people as its car effort, dubbed Project Titan.

We've been hearing rumors about Apple's car ambitions for more than a year, but the company has never publicly acknowledged that it's working on a vehicle. CEO Tim Cook, for his part, has remained coy about it. "Do you remember when you were a kid, and Christmas Eve, it was so exciting, you weren't sure what was going to be downstairs? Well, it's going to be Christmas Eve for a while," Cook said at a recent shareholders' meeting.

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But from securing car-related domain names to hiring car executives from the like of Tesla, it's clear that Apple is at least exploring the idea. In May, it also invested $1 billion in Chinese Uber rival Didi Chuxing.

Main image courtesy of designer Meni Tsirbas(@MeniThings; YouTube)