Ferrari raised intrigue Wednesday after it said its CEO, Luca di Montezemolo, met with the top executives of Apple and Google. As part of a trip to Stanford University, he met with the “heads of Google” as well as Apple CEO Tim Cook. While the details weren’t mentioned, the supercar company mentioned that di Montezemolo had a two-hour “face-to-face meeting” in which they talked about common ground.
“We’re building cars, they build computers,” di Montezemolo said. “But Apple and Ferrari are connected by the same passion, the same love for the product, maniacal attention to technology, but also to design.”
The conversation most likely didn’t involve joint product development. Ferrari has most often connected itself to Acer’s devices, and often has an insistence that its signature prancing horse logo and color schemes feature on products. Likewise, Apple has no real connection to cars outside of encouraging iPhone and iPod integration.
Such conversations are still unusual for both Apple and Google, and could be the start of deeper connections. Ferrari’s chief was officially at Stanford asking students to pursue their dreams, including using technology, but not to be “dependent on machines.”
