Lexus Hoverboard Revealed in Spain – World’s First Hoverpark in Barcelona

By Steve & Tamami Laser

Lexus proclaims that it has “made the impossible, possible.” The wait is finally over. After teasing us for weeks, Lexus has finally revealed its new experimental “Hoverboard.” And as we can see in the video below, it appears to actually work – even on water!

PR Image 1_Hero

The Lexus Hoverboard has taken flight, a feat captured in Slide, a new film recording the success of the latest project in Lexus’s Amazing in Motion campaign.

Lexus says the official reveal of the its Hoverboard in action marks the culmination of 18 months of design and technology planning and weeks of testing at a specially constructed “hoverpark” near Barcelona, Spain.

PR Image 5_Bowl shot

Lexus worked with a team of scientists from IFW Dresden and Evico GmbH who specialize in magnetic levitation technology. Following extensive testing in Germany, the team were determined to push the hoverboard to its limits, conducting further tests in a dynamic environment.

Hover3.pmg

The hoverpark was constructed using around 200 meters of magnetic track set beneath the surface of an area similar to a conventional skate park.

The hoverboard is constructed from an insulated core, containing HTSLs (high temperature superconducting blocks). These are housed in cryostats – reservoirs of liquid nitrogen that cool the superconductors to -197°C. The board is then placed above a track containing permanent magnets. When the board is cooled to its operating temperature the track’s magnetic flux lines are “pinned’ into place, maintaining the hover height of the board.

 

Lexus says the hoverboard remains a prototype and will not be offered for sale.

News source and photos courtesy of Lexus Europe, Lexus International and Lexus Japan

Story (intro and commentary) © 2015 CarNichiWa.com