Lamborghini Research and Development veteran Luigi Taraborrelli is reportedly flipping to Apple after twenty years with the Italian carmaker. Taraborrelli is reportedly going to help the tech giant develop its self-driving electric vehicle, which has been rumored for over a year.
Bloomberg, citing people with knowledge of the situation, said Taraborrelli will help lead the design of Apple’s future EV. Taraborrelli has led Lamborghini’s Chassis and Vehicle Dynamics department since January 2008, his LinkedIn says.
During his time with Lamborghini, Taraborrelli helped collaborate with other members of the team on the development of the Urus, Huracan Coupé, Spyder, 2WD, Performante, EVO, STO, Aventador Coupé, Roadster, Superveloce, and SVJ, and the Limited series Sterrato, Centenario, Asterion, Veneno, J, and VI Elemento.
Taraborrelli said Lamborghini has been working to develop vehicle chassis for plug-in hybrid designs since 2015. Additionally, the team started to develop autonomous driving features, like Active Cruise Control, Lane-Keeping, Lane Departure Warning, and Emergency Assist, in 2016.
Apple, on the other hand, is just making another move, flexing its corporate muscles to convince another automotive industry vet to move toward their EV development project. Ford has successfully hired employees from Ford, Tesla, Rivian, Waymo, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, and others. The company is reportedly heading toward introducing an all-electric, self-driving car by 2025.
Some of Apple’s talent has also left to join other automotive startups. Eric Rogers, who was the company’s Chief Engineer for Radar Systems, was hired by Joby Aviation, an air taxi startup.
Lamborghini plans to invest $1.8 billion into electrification, with its main goal to reduce carbon emissions by 50% by the beginning of 2025.
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