Apple for the day, and not

The BBC has an article by Dave Lee about Apple, which may or may not be buying McLaren for some car technology:

You know what they say: there's no exhaust fumes without combustion. Well, no one says that. But you get my drift: the reports that Apple has been considering a one and a half billion dollar acquisition (or at least significant investment) in British car maker McLaren have thus far been played down by both parties.
But there are several compelling reasons to take the reports seriously. For starters, we've known for a while now that Apple is working on car technology. Whether it's planning on developing an actual car is still up in the air, but we do know it has been hiring (and firing) people with automotive expertise for the past few years.
We know the company is investing big in external talent, including a billion dollars in Chinese ride-sharing service Didi Chuxing, the company dominating that market so strongly even Uber decided it didn't have much chance there.
McLaren's statement that it was "not in discussion with Apple about any potential investment" was coupled with "as you would expect, the nature of our brand means we regularly have confidential conversations with a wide range of parties, but we keep them confidential".
Some are seeing that as a nod that at least preliminary, informal discussions had taken place. The source, the Financial Times, is not known for being rash in these matters; it was they, remember, that had the scoop on Apple's last enormous acquisition: the three billion dollar deal for Dr Dre's Beats headphone company. Though the newspaper did caveat its reporting by saying its source wasn't sure if Apple was still interested after a "change of strategy" in its car plans.
Not long after the Beats story went live we were treated to a video, posted to Facebook, of Dr Dre drunkenly declaring himself the "first billionaire in hip hop". I don't know McLaren Technology Group founder Ron Dennis personally, but I doubt he'll follow Dr Dre's lead on this one.
Apple's meticulous approach to secrecy means we'll only know for sure when the company is good and ready. The project is still very much in its infancy; Tesla, Google and others all have cars out there clocking up the miles right now. Then again, Apple has never been particularly worried about being first, and those early-starting rivals should be mindful of the likes of Nokia and Blackberry.
Recent backroom moves surrounding Project Titan, the internal codename for Apple's car efforts, have seen veteran company Bob Mansfield take the helm. He's a tried, tested, and trusted figure at Apple. Formerly the company's top hardware engineer, Mansfield retired a few years ago, only to return to oversee development of the Apple Watch. Now it's reported that a staff of hundreds working on car-related tech reports to him.
Talks with McLaren could be seen as Mansfield's big strategic move, a way to bring in expertise and a culture that would be a fine fit at Apple. "In the car industry as a whole, almost all companies work on a seven to ten-year cycle for new cars," said Jim Holder from Autocar magazine. McLaren is quicker than that, he said, something he felt would appeal to Apple. "McLaren has proven it can work on a three to five-year cycle," he added. "It can do that because of its racing pedigree. Every two weeks in Formula 1, they turn up with a newer, improved car. Never missing a deadline, and always seeking constant improvement."
What a McLaren acquisition, or investment, wouldn't solve is scale. Setting up a car supply chain and construction line is more complex, expensive and time-consuming than anything Apple has ever done for its devices. McLaren won't really help; its super-luxury cars are put out there in the low thousands each year. "McLaren is a minnow in terms of the number of cars it makes," added Holder, pointing out that it's the same challenge that has Tesla failing to balance the books. "Buying McLaren doesn't solve that problem at all, but it certainly gives them access to people who can solve that problem."
When we look at the potential of Apple buying or investing heavily in McLaren, most are unanimous in thinking Apple is unlikely to get into the business of making or even caring about supercars, and we're not going to see an Apple F1 team. But there's far more to McLaren than that. For instance, did you know that when you come into land at Heathrow, the gate you find yourself is determined by McLaren's technology? It analyzes which planes are landing and when and optimizes gate selection to get people out of the airport more quickly.
Google's development of self-driving cars has been far more public than Apple's. In recent years, the company has directed its knowledge of extreme efficiency into other industries through McLaren Applied Technologies (MAT), a division that brings racing innovations to more mundane scenarios.
In one quirky example, MAT was brought in to add some insight into GlaxoSmithKline's toothpaste production line. GSK wanted to shorten the amount of time it took to switch which specific type of toothpaste was being put into the tubes, a process which took forty minutes.
With McLaren's help, they got that down to fifteen minutes. It meant an extra six million tubes could be made each year. That and additional manufacturing cost savings meant GSK earned an extra hundred million pounds.
When Apple bought Beats, it was mainly about buying a streaming service that provided the backbone to Apple Music. In a McLaren acquisition, cars may be just one part of an enticing package.

Rico says they've got the money, but the BBC has another article that says they're not doing it:

Formula 1 team owner McLaren has dampened down a report that Apple has made a buyout or investment approach for the supercar maker. The Financial Times reported that talks had started several months ago, but a McLaren spokesman said: "We can confirm that McLaren is not in discussion with Apple in respect of any potential investment."
However, the firm "regularly" has "confidential conversations with a wide range of parties", he added.
The Financial Times reported that a potential deal would see Apple pay over a billion pounds for McLaren, or make an investment for part of it, citing sources it said had been briefed on negotiations. It said that Apple was interested in accelerating its own car projects.
The BBC understands that McLaren had been in talks with Apple over its rumored Apple car, but those talks had not come to fruition. 

Analysis by Theo Leggett, BBC business reporter:

Why would Apple be interested in McLaren? It's hard to see why the technology giant would want control of a Formula 1 team, or what interest it might have in the supercars built by McLaren Automotive. A more likely target is McLaren Applied Technologies, a sister business to the other two.
Part of what it does is data analytics. During Formula 1 races, McLaren uses computers to model pretty much any scenario that might occur, so that the team can adapt its strategy on a continuous basis. This kind of modeling can be used in other scenarios too; for example to predict how traffic will flow through a typical city center, and how problems in one area might have knock-on effects miles away.
It also develops advanced materials, lightweight carbon composites and complex alloys, which are used by the automotive business. It's recognized as a leader in the development of simulators, which can model and predict vehicle behavior.
It's an open secret in Silicon Valley that Apple is developing a car; it's widely believed the company has ambitions to become a leader in the market for driverless vehicles.
Advanced materials, predictive analytics and expertise in simulating vehicle behavior; you can start to see why the California giant might be interested in a relatively small business based in Woking, England.
Apple plowed a billion dollars into Chinese ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing earlier this year, and is testing driverless electric cars.
Jim Holder, editorial director at Haymarket Automotive, said that Apple updates its products every year, whereas carmakers only do it every five to seven years. Such is the pace of development within Formula 1 that McLaren will upgrade and refine its racing cars multiple times each week during a season. It is thought that Apple is particularly keen on McLaren's expertise in rapid response times.
If Apple wants a prototyping arm with established credentials, McLaren is a great fit.
Holder added that Tesla has disrupted the car industry, but Apple buying McLaren would be much bigger.

Rico says, as ever with Apple, hide and watch...