Apple Nabs Key Lamborghini Executive to Work on Its Electric Car

Apple has plucked one of Lamborghini’s top car-development managers from Volkswagen Group, in a sign that it’s accelerating work on its self-driving electric vehicle program that’s already seen hundreds of former Tesla, Rivian, Alphabet and other engineers join, according to Bloomberg.

Mockup of potential Apple EV based on “genuine patents filed by Apple, Inc.”, created by Venarama

Luigi Taraborrelli, a 20-year veteran of Lamborghini, was hired to help spearhead the design of Apple’s vehicle, according to anonymous sources. Taraborrelli most recently served as Lamborghini’s head of chassis and vehicle dynamics.

To see some of Lamborghini’s latest work, check out this (Jeremy Clarkson-less, and therefore lame) Top Gear review of the Countach reboot.

Taraborrelli, who worked on the Lamborghini Urus, Huracan and Aventador, will become one of the senior managers on Apple’s EV team. As noted, he also oversaw Lambo’s chassis development, including handling, suspensions, steering, brakes and rims, per his Linkedin profile.

Earlier this year, Apple tapped a 31-year veteran of Ford Motor Co. to lead its vehicle-safety efforts. Last year, it hired Ulrich Kranz, the former chief of struggling electric-car maker Canoo Inc. and former leader of BMW’s electric-car business. Before that, Apple enlisted former Tesla Inc. Autopilot chief Stuart Bowers to work on self-driving technology.

The Apple project includes hundreds of former engineers from Tesla and other car companies, including Rivian Automotive Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo, Volvo Car AB and Mercedes-Benz Group AG. It also has former senior design executives on staff from Tesla, McLaren, Porsche and Aston Martin. -Bloomberg

Apple is shooting for a 2025 introduction, with a design that lets riders face each other in a ‘limousine-like’ interior. Ultimately, Apple has ambitions to create a fully-autonomous car without a steering wheel or pedals, that could spell trouble for Tesla.

That said, Apple has also lost a few key people along the way – including former project head, Doug Field (former Tesla who joined Ford), and AI specialist Ian Goodfellow. The project is currently run by Kevin Lynch, who’s also in charge of the Apple Watch and health software teams – and John Giannandrea, the company’s head of machine learning.

Only one question remains; will it be able to do this???