If I get to ride one of these before I die, I might just be able to forgive the fact that there will be no flying cars in my lifetime, a la The Jetsons.
We’ve seen plenty of hoverboards and hover toys and hover miscellanery over the years, and they all rely on super-strong magnets to stay aloft. But the more weight you intend to add, the colder and stronger those magnets need to be. Lexus claims its hoverboard uses liquid nitrogen-cooled superconductors and permanent magnets to support an actual rider, hence the foggy mist coming off the board.
So it's the real deal then? Maybe, maybe not.
We reached out to Lexus for more information about its supposed breakthrough, but so far the company has been very tight-lipped about the specifics. It did reveal that the hoverboard has been in development for over 18 months by teams in both Germany and London, and it’s currently being tested by a professional skateboarder in Barcelona, although riding it is supposedly an entirely different experience.
With that said, the Gizmodo folks are still skeptical, so I suppose we're going to have to see it with our own lyin' eyes.
Lexus is supposed to be releasing more videos on a weekly basis showing said hoverboard in action. If it's real, I want one. NOW.
