Back to the Future II called, and Lexus answered.
It's not April Fools, so we'll just have to take the Toyota-owned luxury automaker's word for it, that they have created a real, working hoverboard, called "Slide."
A skateboard that flies, people!
"There is no such thing as impossible," Lexus chief engineer Haruhiko Tanahashi is quoted in a pretty damn fly (yes, as in Marty McFLY) promo video touting the new technology. "It's just a matter of figuring out how."
The video then ends with the guy who was riding a regular skateboard a moment ago placing his skater-shoe-clad foot on the levitating board, joined by the hashtag #LexusHover.
Too cool to be true?
PHOTOS: Stars in eco-friendly cars
Well, according to Popular Science and likeminded publications, this could be the real deal.
The technology is out there, and Lexus said on its website that their board, crafted with natural bamboo, hovers thanks to magnets and liquid nitrogen-cooled superconductors.
"It's the perfect example of the amazing things that can be achieved when you combine technology, design and imagination," said Mark Templin, executive VP of Lexus International.
"It's very confidential information but we have been studying the flying car in our most advanced R&D area," Hiroyoshi Yoshiki, a managing officer in Toyota's Technical Administration Group, said at the Bloomberg Next Big Thing Summit in Sausalito, Calif., a year ago. "Flying car means the car is just a little bit away from the road, so it doesn't have any friction or resistance from the road."
And you can bet a few celebs are excited.
"If this is real I'm going to need a coach—Jason Scott Lee or Greg Lutzka could one of you guys help?," Zoe Saldana wrote on Facebook, figuring a martial arts specialist and a professional skateboarder can help her get her bearings.
Alas, you can't buy one (or even pre-order) just, yet, but Lexus says that the prototype is going to be tested out in Barcelona in coming weeks and more info will be available later this year.
Maybe the Future really is now.
PHOTOS: Tech-savvy celebs
RELATED VIDEOS:
Source: Lexus Announces Creation of a Working Hoverboard—and Zoe Saldana Is Ready to Ride!
No comments:
Post a Comment