Late-night 'motor noises' emanate from Apple's mysterious car testing center

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware
Apple's top-secret Sunnyvale, Calif., automotive testing facility has been the source of loud "motor noises" late at night that irked at least one nearby neighbor, AppleInsider has discovered.


Artist's (poor) rendering of an Apple garage.


A resident who lives near Apple's automotive campus in Sunnyvale issued a complaint to city officials last year over concern about noise coming from the property. Major renovations at the Apple-occupied site have been in the works, including the addition of an "auto work area" and a "repair garage," AppleInsider was first to reveal last March.
Apple has built an "auto work area" and "repair garage" in the town of Sunnyvale, where one neighbor complained of "motor noises" late at night.
Whether the sounds were construction or something else remains unknown, as Apple has gone to great lengths to conceal what it is doing at the property.

"(Do) there have to (be) motor noises at 11:00 p.m. at night like last night?" the resident wrote to the city of Sunnyvale. "Even with the windows closed I could still hear it."

Apple occupies seven buildings, comprising nearly 300,000 square feet, of a large office complex in the city. One of the buildings, street number "175," was advertised as home to a mysterious company named SixtyEight Research, believed to be a shell corporation for Apple to conceal its real intentions.

Sources have indicated to AppleInsider that shipments related to the development of Apple's "Project Titan" automotive effort have been sent to its Sunnyvale campus, just minutes away from the 1 Infinite Loop headquarters. Specifically, "Project Titan" is said to be based out of a building known internally as "SG5."


Construction at Apple's Sunnyvale campus, as seen last year.


Whether the developments at the site are related to the advancement of the CarPlay platform or are a part of something larger --?like a full-fledged Apple-built car -- remains a mystery.

And Apple, of course, intends to keep it that way. Last year, representatives for the property received permits to build a 10-foot-tall security fence around the buildings Apple occupies, citing the need for both "physical security" and "visual privacy." The permits were required because the fence exceeds local height restrictions.

Numerous additional permits for construction inside the buildings specifically say the improvements were done "for Apple," leaving little question as to who requested the security fence, and who is responsible for the late-night noises.

More coverage:



Project Titan, SixtyEight & SG5: Inside Apple's top-secret electric car project

Apple's 'Project Titan' at crossroads, team in hiring freeze, source says

Apple's latest Project Titan hires include staff from diverse automotive backgrounds

Apple's 'Project Titan' car initiative negatively impacting Tesla's product development, source says

The art of deception: How Apple attempts to keep its secret projects under wraps

Apple's 'Project Titan' car faces manufacturing roadblocks, could necessitate partnership
«13

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 45
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    I thought they were building an electric car, in which case they shouldn't be able to hear it.
  • Reply 2 of 45
    tmaytmay Posts: 6,329member
    Rayz2016 said:
    I thought they were building an electric car, in which case they shouldn't be able to hear it.
    It's a wood chipper, and Apple is dealing with yet another leaker...
    suddenly newtonchiacnocbuipalomineSpamSandwichbestkeptsecrettallest skilargonaut
  • Reply 3 of 45
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    tmay said:
    Rayz2016 said:
    I thought they were building an electric car, in which case they shouldn't be able to hear it.
    It's a wood chipper, and Apple is dealing with yet another leaker...
    Goddammit! Coffee all over the keyboard…  :D
  • Reply 4 of 45
    Rayz2016 said:
    I thought they were building an electric car, in which case they shouldn't be able to hear it.
    They probably want Samsung to think otherwise....
    aylkpalomineargonaut
  • Reply 5 of 45
    volcanvolcan Posts: 1,799member
    Perhaps they were doing routine monthly testing of a diesel generator. That kind of testing is often done at night. But that's the sort of stuff you have to put up with if you choose to live near an industrial zone.
    cornchip
  • Reply 6 of 45
    Loud engine noises?

    VTEC kicked in, yo.
  • Reply 7 of 45
    Rayz2016 said:
    I thought they were building an electric car, in which case they shouldn't be able to hear it.
    The vehicle 'project' likely tests all kinds of things, and helps to field test things like Apple CarPlay accessing current vehicle diagnostic info.. something it's been missing like weather, engine notifications like change oil, engine temperature, tire pressure, etc.

    Their are a lot of things Apples Automotive Department is likely going to be working on, other than just making an electric car. It would be massively foolish to get all that automotive talent in one place and utilize it for just a single electric car project.
    edited February 2016 ronncalicornchip
  • Reply 8 of 45
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    I always thought the facility was for the Mapping Vans, they most likely built those van in those building and the people there are supporting their mapping program, there is lots of data that will need to be analyzed.
  • Reply 9 of 45
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Looking forward to five years of posts such as these.
  • Reply 10 of 45
    Ok, so there's a 10 foot-tall fence for security and visual privacy, but here's the funny thought: the best way around that for the curious people (other than a drone, which has issues) would involve using a selfie stick with an iPhone attached.

    It's only a matter of time before someone does it!
    shamino
  • Reply 11 of 45
    tmay said:
    Rayz2016 said:
    I thought they were building an electric car, in which case they shouldn't be able to hear it.
    It's a wood chipper, and Apple is dealing with yet another leaker...
    And Ming-chi Kuo was never seen again. /s
    calipalominecornchipargonaut
  • Reply 12 of 45
    Loud engine noises?

    VTEC kicked in, yo.
    It's now called Earth Dreams, yo.
    edited February 2016
  • Reply 13 of 45
    mknelsonmknelson Posts: 1,125member
    Earth Dreams? They're still using that name?

    I had my name micro-printed on the 2008 Honda Earth Dreams F1 car along with many thousands of other people. I can't remember what my promise was - more CF bulbs or turning off the tap while brushing my teeth?
  • Reply 14 of 45
    Could be Apple staff holding drift competitions.
    caliSpamSandwichcornchipargonaut
  • Reply 15 of 45
    Is this the same project AI said Apple was putting on hold (or at least a hiring freeze)?
  • Reply 16 of 45
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    tmay said:
    Rayz2016 said:
    I thought they were building an electric car, in which case they shouldn't be able to hear it.
    It's a wood chipper, and Apple is dealing with yet another leaker...
    Best explanation yet!
  • Reply 17 of 45
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Lots of speciulation here but I will offer up this idea.    Somebody on the team is involved in the hot rod world and was taking advantage of the facilities after a long work day.  This happens all the time at garages where non money generating "fun" work is done on privately owned cars by the employees of the garage.  
    shamino
  • Reply 18 of 45
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    tmay said:
    Rayz2016 said:
    I thought they were building an electric car, in which case they shouldn't be able to hear it.
    It's a wood chipper, and Apple is dealing with yet another leaker...
    Can't even take a piss whilst working for Apple now? 
  • Reply 19 of 45
    Maybe the person calling the police was hired by Apple to file a false report to throw off the rumor mills.
  • Reply 20 of 45
    josujosu Posts: 217member
    tmay said:
    Rayz2016 said:
    I thought they were building an electric car, in which case they shouldn't be able to hear it.
    It's a wood chipper, and Apple is dealing with yet another leaker...
    Good point, It's time they start to take reasonable measures with those guys....Or maybe was a bunch of Wall Street Analysts.
Sign In or Register to comment.