Lexus Hoverboard Gets the Ultimate Test Ride
Watch riders try to get the hang of the futuristic board.
— -- Marty McFly made it look so easy on his hoverboard.
While the Lexus hoverboard isn't quite like the one used in "Back to the Future," a cool new video of the device shows riders taking it for the ultimate test ride in a special "hoverpark" in Barcelona.
The lucky test riders are seen sliding down the rails, cruising down the stairs, gliding over water and taking a few falls along the way.
Riding the board was even a learning experience for professional skater Ross McGouran.
"I've spent 20 years skateboarding, but without friction it feels like I've had to learn a whole new skill, particularly in the stance and balance in order to ride the hoverboard. It's a whole new experience," he said.
Lexus is lifting the veil on the science and technology of how they were able to create the dream vehicle.
The secret to making the hoverboard levitate rests beneath the specially-designed hoverpark in the Spanish city where 200 meters of magnetic track have been laid, essentially acting as a train track for the board to stay on as it navigates through the park. As a result, riders are at the mercy of the tracks and don't have the ability to go wherever they please on the board.
Superconductors inside the board have a powerful magnetic field thanks to a supply of liquid nitrogen keeping the material at -197 degrees Fahrenheit, allowing the board and the magnetic underground tracks to oppose each other and create the levitation effect. The force is so strong riders can even jump onto the board.
Here's the bad news: It's not quite the hoverboard McFly made plenty of people pine for since it can't go just anywhere and you also can't have one. Lexus said the board is a prototype and the automaker has no plans to sell them.