McLaren says it's not in talks with Apple about a possible acquisition
Looking for a luxury car with "billionaire doors"? Apple may be your new dealer.
The tech giant has been in talks with McLaren Technology Group, the British manufacturer of Formula 1 race cars and luxury sports cars, for a potential acquisition or strategic investment, the Financial Times reported Wednesday, citing three anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
Those talks began several months ago, according to the FT. McLaren is denying current discussion, however, at least when it comes to an investment.
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"We can confirm McLaren is not in discussion with Apple in respect of any potential investment," a McLaren spokesperson wrote in an email to Mashable.
Apple declined to comment to Mashable.
The FT's report comes just two weeks after news that Apple had been backing away from plans to make its own self-driving cars. Apple had laid off dozens of employees involved and ended parts of the project, according to The New York Times. Proceeding reports speculated that Apple was focusing on building software and efficient batteries instead.
If a full takeover of McLaren is imminent, Apple would once again be back in the manufacturing business while also acquiring more expertise in automotive engineering and a patent portfolio.
McLaren is known for producing one of the most expensive cars in the world. The luxury sports cars cost at least six-figures and can go for more than $1 million per vehicle. One of its most obvious and admired features are the automated butterfly doors, seen below.
The orange McLaren 650S, which costs $265,000, gained mainstream attention when it was featured in season 2 of HBO's Silicon Valley.
McLaren Automotive produced 1,654 vehicles last year, generating $584 million in revenue.
Outside of its road cars division, McLaren has its greatest investment in its Formula One racing team. The company also offers consulting services to other carmakers and racers.
A deal between Apple and McLaren wouldn't be cheap. The automotive group was valued between $1.3 billion and $1.96 billion, according to people knowledgeable of the deal speaking to the FT. Apple's largest investment was Beats Electronics, a luxury headphone maker, for $3 billion in 2014.
The speculated price tag for McLaren is not too intimidating for a company with a $610 billion market capitalization and billions in cash on hand.
Apple does not publicly discuss its automative projects, unlike competitors Google and Uber. Apple shareholders previously have suggested for the company to buy Tesla. In 2015, Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke more to a future partnership with Apple's car technology.
"We don't really have a relationship with them," Cook told investors last May. "I'd love Tesla to pick up CarPlay. We now have every major auto brand committing to use CarPlay, and maybe Tesla would want to do that."
Meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon Musk spent his morning tweeting about his company's own software, particularly the improvements from v7.0 to 8.0 and 8.1.
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Kerry Flynn is a business reporter for Mashable covering the tech industry. She previously reported on social media companies, mobile apps and startups for International Business Times. She has also written for The Huffington Post, Forbes and Money magazine. Kerry studied environmental science and economics at Harvard College, where she led The Harvard Crimson's metro news and design teams and played mellophone in the Band. When not listening to startup pitches, she runs half-marathons, plays with puppies and pretends to like craft beer.
