Secret Apple Car Facility Discovered in Sunnyvale, California?

Apple is widely rumored to be working on a self-driving electric car at a secret research lab and now a new report claims to have discovered the location of that facility.

Two people familiar with the project codenamed 'Titan' confirm that Apple is working on it and receiving shipments related to its development at a building just minutes away from Apple's headquarters, in Sunnyvale, California.

Investigating information from its sources, AppleInsider began looking for a top-secret building known by the internal codename "SG5". It was led to a location that is home to a mysterious market research firm dubbed SixtyEight. Nestled amongst various offices belonging to Apple, it's believed that this location is a key part of the 'Titan' project.


Last May, it was reported that Apple would occupy seven buildings in a large Sunnyvale office complex that previously belonged to Maxim Integrated. There are other tenants at the campus including CPP and Illumio. However, there is one building at the complex, number 175, that has no listed tenant despite being off the market for months. It also has building permits for tenant improvements including a 4,239-square-foot "repair garage" without acknowledging the current lessee.

The office at 175 is apparently belongs to SixtyEight Research. Besides a sparse website registered less than a year ago, the company has no discernible online presence. It's believed that this building at 175 is the secret SG5 location. Apple employees have reportedly been told to turn their badges around when entering and those who have access have been given badges that look the same as Apple's typical ones but without a company logo.

Permits issued at the location also appear to corroborate a major project of some type.

At building "175," where SixtyEight Research is located, the story is especially interesting. Permits show recent fire sprinkler inspections for both the 4,239-square-foot windowless repair garage and 7,520 square-feet of office space. Out back is a rolling overhead door, large enough to easily fit a car or minivan. Most recently, the property assigned to SixtyEight underwent interior demolition work for an unspecified project earmarked for generic tenant improvements.


In addition, the location next door also has building permits issued for the construction of an "auto work area" and an office and meeting space. This location at 165 is curiously missing a tenant name on the improvement permits.

Apple routinely uses shell corporations when working on a secret project. SixtyEight was licensed as a foreign corporation in California last November. It later paid to import a 1957 Fiat Multipla 600 from the U.K. into the U.S. Notably, Jonathan Ive has a soft spot of the Fiat 500 he drove while in school. He even joined forces with co-designer Marc Newson to auction off a Product(RED) Fiat 600 in 2013.

Perhaps the biggest confirmation that Apple is operate at this location is a note that was taped to SixtyEight's front door when AppleInsider visited the location. The note informs drivers that the company's lobby has been moved to a new address. That address is the office complex's flagship three-story building, leased entirely by Apple.

It's unlikely Apple will ever confirm any details of its car project before its unveiling so please follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, or RSS for updates.

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