McLaren Technology Group has been forced to deny reports it is in talks either to be taken over or to take a strategic investment from technology giant Apple Inc.

The denial follows an unconfirmed report from The Financial Times that claimed that the F1 race team and super carmaker had been in talks with Apple for several months. Interestingly The New York Times seemingly confirmed the story, saying that it was true based on discussions with “two people briefed on the talks who asked to remain anonymous because the discussions were confidential.”

“There’s no takeover, no strategic investment,” a McLaren spokesperson told Business Insider. “It’s completely untrue.”

A different McLaren spokesman then told The New York Times that “the nature of our business means we regularly have conversations with all sorts of parties, but those conversations remain confidential … We’re not in a position to confirm or deny any previous conversation,” seemingly neither denying nor confirming the story.

A possible tie-up between the two companies could allow Apple to kick-start its floundering car building efforts, which were said less that two weeks ago to be all but abandoned with the company deciding instead to build the underlying technology for a self-driving car versus building its own.

McLaren is most famous for its Formula 1 team and its high-end sports cars, including the million-dollar P1 hybrid supercar, but notably is also a technology firm in itself in that it designs its own high-end vehicle systems that it sells to other car makers, potentially making it an ideal fit for Apple’s car ambitions.

Up to something

While the idea of Apple buying an F1 racing team is odd, where there is smoke, there often is fire. And with a war chest of over $200 billion in cash, Apple seems like to be looking to buy something. The big question is what.

At the same time the McLaren report emerged, Apple is also said to be in talks with Lit Motors, a Bay Area startup that manufactures self-balancing motorcycles.

Apple is said to have already poached a number of employees from Lit, so a potential acquisition could be a talent rather than a desire by Apple to own a company that makes a vehicle that is a cross between a motorcycle and a car. It’s also quite possible that Apple is in talks with other companies we don’t know about at this stage.

Apple needs to do something to arrest declining profits off the back of slowing iPhone sales, and an acquisition or three might be a way to do so.

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