Search

The Super-Conductive Lexus Slide Hoverboard

Did Lexus just go full-on Marty McFly (“Hellloooo?!”) and somehow figure out how to defy gravity in skateboard form? The luxury automaker unveiled a teaser video offering a very quick peek of the Slide, a hoverboard supposedly capable of floating independently via magnetic levitation. The movie-dream-turned-reality was devised using liquid nitrogen-cooled superconductors and permanent superconducting magnets inside the chunky deck (the wispy plumes of smoke visible emanating from the board’s sides hint of the superconduction happening within). It’s chockfull of “super” stuff indeed, but Lexus claims it’s no hoax (update footage added below).

But alas, this invention comes with some notable caveats: since it operates magnetically, the Slide only does its magic while above steel surfaces. It also will stop floating when the tank of liquid nitrogen is tapped. And most importantly, Lexus has made it clear the board is for “demonstration purposes only”, designed as a working exploratory concept for an ad campaign being filmed in Spain… and to get us all talking and dreaming about hoverboards for a little longer.

Lexus-slide_bg

From Mark Templin, executive vice president of Lexus International:

That determination, combined with our passion and expertise for design and innovation, is what led us to take on the Hoverboard project. It’s the perfect example of the amazing things that can be achieved when you combine technology, design and imagination.

Lexus-Hoverboard

UPDATE: It looks like Lexus wants to silence doubters, announcing they’ll show even more of their proof-of-concept hoverboard on August 5th with pro skater, Ross McGouran, to show and prove.

Gregory Han is a Senior Editor at Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.