The "Apple Car" will be oval-shaped, automatic, and basically something out of a sci-fi movie, if it's anything like a group of California students have envisioned.
And technology journalists everywhere will hate it.
Motor Trend, a car magazine based out of Los Angeles, tapped students at Pasadena's ArtCenter College of Design to envision what a vehicle developed by the tech giant might look like.
The design was all part of a speculative story the magazine published Thursday.
Students came up with a design that incorporates concepts such as Toyota's Me.We, which allows drivers to control the car's functions through a smartphone.
Elements of theFord O21C, an innovative model that has interior lit by optical fibers, were also included.
The students' "Apple Car" wouldn't come with doors, but a roof that lifts to one side instead.
It would also have autonomous driving and an entertainment system beneath the windshield. A smartphone would adjust the seats, the mirrors, even the climate control.
The final design looked like this:
Elaborate as it was, the creation drew plenty of mockery online.
Jalopnik blasted it as an "egg on wheels!"
Wall Street Journal technology columnist Christopher Mims called it "embarrassing."
The reception reminds us of this one that greeted Homer Simpson:
The magazine's story came as interest in Apple's efforts to develop an electric car ramped up.
Apple Insider revealed two months ago that the company had received approval for an "auto testing center" in the city.
The project, codenamed ""Project Titan," is being housed in Sunnyvale, Calif., Apple Insider said.
That facility includes a "lube bay," a "tire changer," a "wheel sensor," and a "repair garage," the website added.
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