The year 2015 marks a number of pop-culture movie anniversaries, like 30 years since "The Breakfast Club" and 40 since "Jaws" premiered. But for fans of the "Back to the Future" film franchise, this was supposed to be the year of the hoverboard.
Hoverboard designed by Lexus.
Michael J. Fox's Marty McFly character time-traveled to 2015 in "Back to the Future II" and famously rode a gravity-defying skateboard to elude the bad guys. So, where are the hoverboards that were supposed to be here by now? Car maker Lexus says it will reveal the answer Aug. 5.
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The luxury unit of Toyota said it has been working on the vehicle for about 18 months and in June said it was getting close to completing a version that it could demonstrate to the public. Video and still images so far show the sleek, metal-and-bamboo board floating above the surface of a skate park but have yet to show anyone actually riding it.
A Lexus spokesman said that a riding demonstration could be a highlight of next week's unveiling but declined to comment further. (Last fall, a video of skateboarder Tony Hawk trying a similar technology with Kickstarter-backed Hendo Hover went viral.)
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The board uses magnetic levitation to move while suspended above the ground. Well, maybe "ground" is the wrong word. The board needs a metal surface to levitate, so it doesn't look like commuters will be riding them to work anytime soon.
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