Dashboard Siri! Take me to the airport! NO, NOT the RUNWAY! Argh!

Fanboi racers can soon embed an Apple tablet in their dashboard following the launch of iOS-powered CarPlay.

Cupertino has signed up Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo to be the first manufacturers to fit Apple's touchscreen fondleslab into their cars.

The CarPlay rollout is not a surprise: the in-car system tech was previously developed under the name "iOS in the Car". Apple first announced its driving ambitions at last year's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) before revealing its rebranding at the Geneva International Motor Show today.

At the heart of an iCar is a dashboard-mounted slab, resembling a heavy-duty iPad. It doesn't have any processing grunt itself, but requires fanbois to plug in their iPhone.

Once the iPhone is inserted, Carplay then shows simplified functions on its touchscreen. Siri is also roped in to boss drivers about by offering advice on directions or reminding them of upcoming meetings.

So far, the most prominent firms allowed to design apps for Carplay are Spotify and iHeartRadio, who will each offer music playing software, but Apple are likely to open up the system to other developers.

Cupertino said that 13 more firms are currently planning to use CarPlay in their motors, with big names including Nissan, BMW, Ford and Jaguar Land Rover. ®

Bootnote

If you're struggling to make sense of the headline, El Reg directs you to last year's article in which Alaskans had a little trouble with Apple Maps.