Can you imagine a car without wheels? Lexus believes this may one day become a reality. The Japanese carmaker has created the Hoverboard, which mimics a skateboard without wheels, as part of its Amazing Motion project. Mark Templin, executive vice president, said: “The Hoverboard project is the perfect example of the amazing things that can be achieved when you combine technology, design and imagination.”
Little technical information is available at this stage, but Lexus mentioned that magnetic levitation in combination with liquid-nitrogen-cooled superconductors and permanent magnets are used to give the Hoverboard frictionless movement. We know that magnetic levitation is used successfully on trains, but the infrastructure it needs is extremely expensive. We doubt that any roads will be dug up soon to install coils for magnetic levitation and propulsion. Cornering may also be a problem, but least there won’t be any tyre wear!