By Jack Evans
Lexus has invented a real, working hoverboard, which defies belief as it floats along a custom-built skate park.
The only issue is that you can’t buy one – this one is custom made and brimming with technology.
As the video shows, this hoverboard can conquer ramps, bowls and can even jump over a parked Lexus. It also skims across a long section of water.
The hoverboard isn’t exactly how it looks though. There’s some seriously clever technology going on underneath everyone’s feet.
Beneath the floor of the skatepark are a series of magnets that work together with the board to ‘hover’. The magnets need a chemical reaction in order to work, so those located in the board need to be cooled by liquid nitrogen, hence the ‘steam’ that is coming out from the board itself.
The skatepark itself was created using 200 metres of magnetic track with a concrete surface laid over the top. This allowed the engineers to create a true to life looking hoverboard environment.
Lexus worked in partnership with German engineers to create this one-of-a-kind device, and went through months of development just to get it to float.
There were even rigorous interview sessions to find the right skateboarder for the job, Ross McGouran was chosen only after he could demonstrate that he knew the direction the team was going in.
Extensive tests were done in partnership with McGouran, allowing both rider and board to work in unison once the technological side had been accomplished.
Picture: Newspress
