The 90s were a time to remember. During the final period between the 20th and 21st century, we witnessed the rise of new technologies, phones, home internet, and most importantly, the arrival of Curro in our lives (the symbol of Expo 92 and a perpetual protagonist on the towels of millions of Spaniards).
If we delve into the field of tech, it’s impossible not to mention Apple. However, the company that revolutionized the mobile sector with its iPhone won’t look back fondly on the 90s.
It’s true that now we only see Apple swimming in money, but the truth is that the company has also had its fair share of struggles. After Steve Jobs’ tumultuous departure in 1985, the bitten apple company experienced one failure after another. The Apple Newton, the Macintosh TV, and Pippin (Apple’s game console) were just some of the “experiments” that didn’t receive the expected reception, neither in terms of sales nor reviews.
Although many of these failures brought Cupertino to the brink of bankruptcy, it’s also worth acknowledging one thing: it was a time when the company was more willing to take risks and break away from the established norms. In its eagerness to explore other market avenues, Apple decided to dip its toe into the world of automobiles.
Yes, much has been said about Apple’s rumored future vehicle, but few know that the brand already “had its own car” (more or less).
Renault and Apple, the crossover you never expected to see
The Apple executive team wanted to attract customers by any means necessary. Technology-wise, things weren’t going so well, so why not try their luck with cars? One of their “strategies” involved signing an agreement with Renault, although it wouldn’t go as far as building and designing a car from scratch. However, the deal would go a little further than just putting the Apple logo on any bodywork.
Introducing the Renault Clio RSi Apple. That’s what this model was called, which was essentially a Renault Clio RSi. With the purchase of this Clio, Apple included a Macintosh PowerBook 190, a mobile phone with GSM connection (which served to provide internet to the PowerBook), and as a gift, 500MB of internet data. You might think that 500MB is measly, but that amount was more than enough to do whatever you wanted on the early internet.
This version of the Clio passed by without much fanfare and for now, it remains as a curious anecdote in Apple’s resume. Would you have bought this car back then?
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