Ok, so it’s not a time-traveling Delorean, but this is still pretty cool: Lexus has built an honest-to-God hoverboard.
Now, you can’t buy the floating skateboard just yet, but it is a working prototype, powered by superconductors and magnets, according to Bloomberg. Marty McFly, the hero of “Back to the Future,” famously rode a hoverboard in the second installment of the trilogy, released in 1989.
Right now the hoverboard has only been tested in Japan, but Toyota, Lexus’ parent company, plans to bring tests to Barcelona soon. Here is a video of the hoverboard in action:
Toyota has also considered how to bring this technology to cars, Bloomberg notes.
The Wildest Concept Cars of 2014
Anybody can take Chevy's Chaparral 2x Vision concept car for a spin — anybody with Gran Turismo 6 for the Sony PlayStation, anyway, where the car is a playable download.Gene Blevins—LA DailyNews/CorbisOne day, we'll all finally get to ride those light-cycles from Tron. For now, there's Toyota's FV2 concept car.Joe Klamar—AFP/Getty ImagesDoors? Where you're going in the Smart Brabus FourJoy concept car, you don't need doors.Bloomberg/Getty ImagesThe pickup truck hasn't really changed much in decades — until Volkswagen took it on with this Tristar concept car, which takes a pickup and makes it super offroad-friendly.Fabian Bimmer—Reuters/CorbisNissan's 3-seat electric BladeGlider concept car might actually make it to production, pretty rare for a concept car this wild. If a Jedi Knight drove a car, it would be the BladeGlider.Gene Blevins—LA DailyNews/CorbisToyota hasn't said much about its high-riding C-HR Concept crossover, but we know that it's purple. Very purple.Benoit Tessier—Reuters/CorbisMaserati says its Alfieri concept car represents "the future of Maserati design." Too bad most of us can't conceptualize being able to afford a Maserati any time soon.Pierre Albouy—AFP/Getty ImagesMercedes-Benz's G-Code concept SUV comes covered in what the company calls "multi-voltaic silver" paint that's supposed to act like one big solar cell. It's all very green — err, "multi-voltaic silver." Kim Kyung-Hoon—Reuters/CorbisIt somehow doesn't feel like this car, designed by Russian artist Gosha Ostretsov, will fly off the shelves. But that's okay, because it's more art exhibit than commercial vehicle. Smityuk Yuri—ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis