Apple may be leasing a former Fiat-Chrysler vehicle testing site in Arizona for autonomous vehicle research purposes, according to an unnamed source that spoke to Jalopnik.

Apple has reportedly been recruiting automative test engineers and technicians from vehicle proving grounds around Arizona to work at the site, located in Surprise, Arizona, but neither Apple nor Fiat-Chrysler would confirm Apple's presence at the location.

Fiat-Chrysler in the early 2000s used the site to test the impact of hot temperatures on cars and their components. The location is said to contain multiple road surfaces, a high speed oval, steep grades, and areas dedicated to wet weather testing.

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A Google Earth image of the test site in Surprise, Arizona, via Jalopnik

It was sold to a developer for $312 million in 2005 as a housing location, but the plans fell through and it has been unused for the past several months. Jalopnik says that records suggest recent activity has been spotted on the site, which has now been leased to a company called Route 14 Investment Partners LLC.

There's no clear link between Apple and Route 14 Investment Partners LLC, but Apple has been known to use shell companies for leasing properties, trademarking, and other purposes.

It would also not be unusual or surprising for Apple to lease an autonomous vehicle testing site, as the company has made it clear that an autonomous system is something that's in the works.

While Apple was originally said to be working on developing a full autonomous electric vehicle, the company's focus shifted to an autonomous driving system in 2016 after the return of Bob Mansfield, who took over the project.

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One of Apple's autonomous driving test vehicles

Apple is already testing its autonomous driving system out on public roads using several Lexus RX450h SUVs outfitted with a slew of sensors and cameras.

In June of 2017, Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly confirmed Apple is working on autonomous driving systems.

"We're focusing on autonomous systems. It's a core technology that we view as very important. We sort of see it as the mother of all AI projects. It's probably one of the most difficult AI projects actually to work on," he said.

Related Roundup: Apple Car

Top Rated Comments

dominiongamma Avatar
70 months ago
Checkmate. Apple has won yet again.
They haven’t even won on Apple maps, they are years behind driverless tech
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
farewelwilliams Avatar
70 months ago
i just want something like uber where
- there's no driver that's trying to talk to you when you really want to be left alone
- i can select music from my phone and it'll play in the car 100% of the time (uber cars sometimes doesn't let you)
- i can pay $300-$500 monthly for unlimited rides
- i can program multiple stops from my phone
- there's always a wire to charge my devices

if that can happen, i can ditch the need to own a car.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
farewelwilliams Avatar
70 months ago
they are years behind driverless tech
i wouldn't bet on that. they started a lot sooner than most news outlets have reported on.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iLoveiTunes Avatar
70 months ago
Checkmate. Apple has won yet again.
Care much for the internet likes ?? Looking at your signature
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fairuz Avatar
70 months ago
i just want something like uber where
- there's no driver that's trying to talk to you when you really want to be left alone
- i can select music from my phone and it'll play in the car 100% of the time (uber cars sometimes doesn't let you)
- i can pay $300-$500 monthly for unlimited rides
- i can program multiple stops from my phone
- there's always a wire to charge my devices

if that can happen, i can ditch the need to own a car.
I just want a BMW M3, manual.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fairuz Avatar
70 months ago
The joy of driving can never be crushed!
Sadly, Ferrari has already ruined it by putting full auto in all Ferraris and Maseratis. Lamborghini still offers semi-automatic, which makes a world of difference in terms of fun. And Formula 1 still uses semi-automatic since full auto is banned.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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