It Lives! The Lexus Hoverboard Is Real And It Actually Works

It’s finally happened: Lexus has made a real, working hoverboard.

And who better to test it out than a group of professional skateboarders? But as you’ll see in the video above, it’s not the easiest thing to master.

The hoverboard uses superconductors and magnets to achieve that magical hover. So, although the skaters do hover, they have to follow a pre-determined course laid out with metal so that the magnets can do their hovering thing.

It’s a little unwieldy - not least because the superconductors have to hit -321 degrees Farenheit to become superconducting, hence the use of liquid nitrogen to cool them. That’s why the rider is also surrounded by a cool cloud of steam.

Slightly less cool is the number of tumbles each skater takes - apparently riding a board through thin air is significantly more difficult than riding one on wheels.

The race has been on for mankind to come up with a working hoverboard in time for October 21, 2015. That’s the date on which Marty McFly hopped on a board to escape the bullying Griff in Back To The Future II.

Although Lexus recreated McFly’s water-based manoeuvres in its promo video, it’s not likely that we’ll be zooming around on anything as snazzy as Marty’s hot pink number come October.