Your first look at Apple’s self-driving car is here, and it’s pretty unexpected

It’s no secret that Silicon Valley giant Apple has been working to develop a self-driving car in an attempt to compete with its rivals, including Google and Tesla. Apple has kept things pretty hush-hush so far, but earlier this month, the company finally got approval to start testing its self-driving car technology in California — and we’ve got the pictures to prove it.

The vehicle has been spotted cruising through the streets of Silicon Valley recently, and appears to be a Lexus RX450h fitted with a number of sensors, radar scanners, and cameras. Some of the sensors appear to be made by third party companies, rather than Apple itself, according to earlier Bloomberg reports, but again this is all early-stage tech.

At first glance, it’s not quite as futuristic as we were hoping Apple’s first self-driving car would be, but it’s still so early. Plus, if smartphones and tablets are any indication, we know Apple won’t be entering this playground until it has perfected its product (and totally pimped its ride). Apple is such a big name that releasing an electric, potentially self-driving, vehicle would reshape the luxury electric car market for sure.

We’re looking forward to seeing all the developments of Apple’s shot at autonomous-car technology — which is known internally as “Project Titan.”

More importantly, we’re happy that we might be one step closer to flying cars. If anyone can do it, it’s Apple.