New Apple chief executive John Ternus is an amateur racer and Formula 1 enthusiast, with his reported track activities at Laguna Seca adding an unexpected motorsport dimension to one of technology’s most influential executives.
John Ternus officially succeeded Tim Cook as Apple CEO on 1 September 2026, but his 25 years inside the technology company tell only part of the story. Away from Cupertino, the mechanical engineering graduate has developed a serious interest in Porsche, circuit driving and Formula 1.
Ternus has largely kept that side of his life private, meaning confirmed details about his personal car collection are limited. Reports surrounding his appointment have nevertheless described him as a Porsche-driving amateur racer, placing the new Apple chief considerably closer to motorsport culture than the typical Silicon Valley executive.
His connection to Laguna Seca is particularly intriguing. Ternus is reported to have driven regularly at the Californian circuit, with lap times said to have dipped below the 1 minute 40 second mark.
More striking still is the car associated with those track outings, one of the rarest modern machines Porsche has produced for private circuit use.
Ternus is reportedly linked to the 700PS Porsche 935
Ternus has been reported as owning a modern Porsche 935, the uncompromising track machine revealed at Rennsport Reunion VI at Laguna Seca in September 2018.
Porsche produced only 77 examples. Beneath its dramatic bodywork sits the mechanical foundation of the 991 generation Porsche 911 GT2 RS, including a 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six producing 700PS and a seven-speed PDK transmission.
At approximately 1,380kg, the 935 was created specifically for clubsport events and private circuit use rather than road driving. It was not developed around a conventional racing homologation package either, giving Porsche’s engineers considerably more freedom over its design.
Much of the standard body was replaced or supplemented with carbon fibre composite components, producing the elongated silhouette that links the modern car to one of Porsche’s most recognisable competition machines.
The modern 935 revived the Moby Dick philosophy
The visual inspiration came from the Porsche 935/78, better known as Moby Dick.
Its extended tail, enormous bodywork and aerodynamic treatment made the original 935/78 one of the most distinctive racing Porsches of its era. The modern 935 was deliberately conceived as a reinterpretation rather than a straightforward recreation.
That connection gives Ternus’s reported choice of track car considerably more motorsport substance than simply owning a high-performance Porsche. The 935 is effectively a factory-built circuit special with few concessions to conventional road car requirements.
Its birthplace also makes the connection particularly neat. Porsche unveiled the modern 935 at Laguna Seca, the same circuit with which Ternus has been associated as an amateur driver.
Apple and Porsche already share an unusual racing history
Ternus’s personal interest arrives against an increasingly visible relationship between Apple and Porsche in motorsport.
At the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship round at Laguna Seca, Porsche Penske Motorsport transformed both factory Porsche 963s with a special Apple Computer-inspired livery. The design celebrated 75 years of Porsche Motorsport and 50 years since Apple was founded.
The colour scheme traced its origins to a Porsche 935 K3 raced in 1980, including at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Its Apple Computer graphics and spectrum colours became one of the more unusual sponsor liveries of the period.
For the 2026 tribute, Porsche carried those colours onto its contemporary 963 prototype at Laguna Seca, bringing the Apple and Porsche relationship back onto a racing circuit more than four decades later.
The coincidence is difficult to miss. Apple now has a CEO with a documented enthusiasm for Porsche and amateur racing, while Porsche has simultaneously revived one of the most recognisable pieces of Apple-related motorsport history.
Formula 1 is also part of Ternus’s interest in racing
Ternus’s enthusiasm is not limited to Porsche track cars. He has also been described as a significant Formula 1 follower, adding another layer to his interest in professional motorsport.
That makes his background unusual among leaders of companies on Apple’s scale. His engineering career has been centred on consumer hardware, materials and product development, yet his interest in racing places him in an environment built around many of the same fundamentals: weight reduction, thermal management, mechanical efficiency, materials engineering and relentless optimisation.
There is no indication that Ternus’s appointment will translate into a new Apple motorsport programme, and his private collection remains largely out of public view.
Yet the connection is now difficult to ignore. Apple enters its post-Tim Cook era under an engineer who follows Formula 1, spends time around Porsche and has reportedly driven one of the marque’s rarest modern track machines. With Porsche simultaneously bringing Apple Computer colours back to Laguna Seca, technology and motorsport have crossed paths at an unusually appropriate moment.
