It isn’t uncommon for luxury automakers to license non-automotive products such as watches, outer wear and sunglasses for their customers to enjoy, but Lexus->ke47 is putting its logo on a much different accessory: a hoverboard. As part of the Lexus “Amazing in Motion” creativity campaign, this hoverboard – called “Slide” – uses can hover thanks to liquid-nitrogen-cooled superconductors and permanent magnets, aka magnetic levitation or maglev.

This technology is already in use on high-speed passenger trains, but it had yet to be developed to bring hoverboards from sci-fi to reality. In addition to the actual hoverboard, maglev also requires a special surface on which to operate, which means the course shown in the Lexus video->ke278 is not your typical neighborhood skate park.

While Lexus didn’t provide any in-depth details for its hoverboard, Spanish website El Patin claims to have located the skate park that the automaker uses in the video. The park is located just outside of Barcelona, Spain – where Lexus says it will be testing the hoverboard in coming months. What Lexus hasn’t said yet is what, if any, automotive advancements it hopes to gain from the development of such maglev technology.

Continue reading for the full story.

Why it matters

Sorry, Back to the Future fans. Don’t expect to be able to pick up your own hoverboard anytime soon, but this PR stunt does show that Lexus is pushing the limits of technology and innovation… even if it has nothing to do with cars.