The much-rumoured iCar may have never made it into existence, but VolksWagen’s Apple-themed car has finally been made official. The iBeetle offers up some deeply ingrained Apple tech, but who’s actually going to buy one?
Apple has already turned up in a number of cars — BMW, Mercedes, GM, Land Rover, Jaguar, Audi and Honda all uses a Siri Eyes-Free feature — but Volkswagen has gone a little further. The car comes with a specially designed docking station, designed to allow the iPhone to snap into the cradle, and a host of car-specific apps. Apparently, the car even comes in a range of colours that are “stylistically linked” to Apple, whatever that means.
In terms of, you know, functions, then apps provided by Volkswagen allow for Spotify integration, as well as the use of a G-Meter, oil temperature gauges, fuel economy diagnostics and a variety of social features from the comfort of the dash. Probably best to use most of them when parked though.
Available for advance sales in October 2013, with the car finally being made available in 2014, it’s designed around the iPhone 5. A shame there will be a new iPhone by the time you can buy it then. [Volkswagen via The Verge]