A vehicle testing facility in Arizona
A mysterious Arizona vehicle proving ground seems to belong to Apple for autonomous vehicle testing, and new evidence may prove it.
Rumors and countless patents show Apple is working on an autonomous vehicle that's been dubbed Apple Car. However, such a project is difficult to keep secret, especially when it needs to be tested on roadways.
According to a report from Car and Driver, Apple seems to be present at an Arizona proving ground previously rumored to have been purchased by a shell corporation named Route 14 Investment Partners. Between an identical vehicle and sensor housing sighted at the facility and literal signs pointing to Apple — it seems suspicions are correct.
It has been difficult to tie Apple and an Arizona vehicle testing facility together with absolute certainty, but the evidence is mounting. Photos taken by Car and Driver show a fourth-generation Lexus RX with a sensor stack on top driving at the Arizona facility.
That same vehicle has been sighted driving around California. When cross-referenced with California Autonomous Mileage Reports, the vehicles show they belong to Apple.
Another connection was made almost by accident. A sign pointing to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality led the reporters to investigate further.
Long story short, after some quality reporting work, the Car and Driver reporters were able to connect Apple's Ken Lynch to Route 14 Investment Partners... kind of. While nothing is certain, it seems [email protected] belongs to the same Ken Lynch working at Apple, and both have phone numbers with Silicon Valley area codes with nearly identical outgoing messages.
And no, that isn't Kevin Lynch, the current head of Project Titan. However, we were amused by the proximity.
All signs point to Apple owning the Arizona facility. While Apple Car isn't set to be announced anytime soon, if ever, it is clear Apple is pushing development forward.
