Is Apple looking at getting into the automobile market? A new report indicates that the electronics company is developing a secret electric vehicle code-named “Titan.”

Apple has several hundred employees working on the project, and “Titan” has an initial design that resembles a minivan — a project that an Apple spokesman declined comment on, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

It could be years before the car ever sees the road, even with perfect development execution and if Apple decides to green-light the project. Indeed, the company may ultimately decide not to build a car, and technologies developed for the car, such as long-life batteries and in-car electronics could be used for Apple products such as the iPhone and iPad. It’s not uncommon for the company to examine new technologies and product lines, even if it means building a full prototype of something it never plans to put on the market, according to the report.

However, the fact that so many employees are working on Titan indicates that the company may be serious about jumping into the automotive market at a time when the Detroit automakers and Asian manufactures are seeing new challenges on the horizon from Tesla and Google’s self-driving car.

Apple executives have met with contract manufacturers for high-end cars in Austria, including Canada’s Magna International, which declined to comment on the project, according to the report.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook may have hinted at the car during a September appearance on Charlie Rose, where he said that the company was working on product that “no one knows about, that haven’t been rumored about yet.”

Cook apparently approved the project about a year ago and assigned Vice President Steve Zadesky to head up the effort, according to anonymous sources who spoke to the Wall Street Journal. Zadesky is a former Ford engineer who helped lead the Apple’s iPod and iPhone teams.

Zadesky was allowed a 1,000-person team and his pick of employees from all different divisions in the company, according to the report.