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The hoverboard of your dreams is finally here, thanks to Lexus

Finally. Finally! Anyone who grew up in the 1980s has been waiting for this moment for a long, long time. Since 1989, to be exact, which is when Back to the Future Part II hovered its way into theaters showing Marty-of-the-past riding a newfangled board-without-wheels in a fabricated future. After several teases, Lexus has finally unleashed real, actual footage of its hoverboard in action. As you'll see in the video, the learning curve is steep, even for a professional skateboarder like Ross McGouran. "I've spent 20 years skateboarding, but without friction it feels like I've had to learn a whole new skill, particularly in the stance and balance in order to ride the hoverboard. It's a whole new experience," says the hoverboard test rider. Before we all get too carried away, there are caveats to this real-world hoverboard. First, the technology doesn't work everywhere. According to Lexus, 200 meters of magnetic track was built in Dresden, Germany, and shipped to a specially built "hoverpark" in Barcelona, Spain. Unlike the fictional hoverboard from BTTF, though, Lexus' creation does indeed work on water... assuming there's a properly magnetic surface below the surface. We're sure you've got questions – cryostats, liquid hydrogen and magnets, are the likely answers – but first, you really should watch the video. Then, feel free to check out the full press release down below, but before you get too excited, know that Lexus has said it does not intend to sell a production version of its hoverboard. Related Video: Lexus Hoverboard Ride Revealed New Film for the Latest Amazing in Motion Campaign Shows Final Testing in Barcelona August 04, 2015 TOKYO, August 05, 2015 -- Following the unveiling of the Lexus Hoverboard in June, the luxury automotive company is completing a full and final reveal of the project concluding a successful testing phase which took place in Cubelles, Barcelona. Mark Templin, Executive Vice President at Lexus International said: "Embarking on this project, we set out to push the boundaries of technology, design and innovation to make the impossible possible. With this project we call 'SLIDE', we collaborated with partners who share our passion for creating enjoyment out of motion. Even through combining our technology and expertise, we discovered making a hoverboard isn't an easy process.

Lexus teases new F Sport engine cover

Lexus has teased a new F Sport model by revealing just the engine cover. It could point to a new performance version of the 2021 Lexus IS, and a potential successor to the dearly departed IS F. The image was obtained by Lexus Enthusiast, which pointed out that the carbon-fiber pattern cover is exactly the same shape as the one found shrouding the 5.0-liter V8 that powers the GS F and RC F. Good for 467 horsepower and 389 lb-ft of torque and a symphonic revving sound, the 2UR-GSE has traditionally been the heart of Lexus's F performance line. The teased cover, however, shows an "F Sport" badge where the GS F and RC F's "F" badge once resided. That implies a car with stiffer sport suspension along with some of the styling of a full-blown F model, but not the full stable of horses under the hood. Recently, Best Car magazine reported that Lexus was about to come out with a trio of F models. We think this engine cover is unlikely to preview an LC F, as the LC 500 is already powered by the 2UR-GSE, and wears a completely different engine cover. Also, an LC F would likely be turbocharged and thus don a different cover altogether. While it's possible that Lexus would drop the more powerful 2UR-GSE into the LS to give it a 73-horsepower bump over its current 394, that would imply an LS F model, not a simple F Sport. And besides, the LS already has an F Sport variant. The Best Car report also indicated that the LS F in the works, if it happens at all — and that's a big "if" — would be propelled by a twin-turbo V8.  That leaves the new IS, which in its most powerful guise has a 3.5-liter V6 generating 311 horses and 280 lb-ft of torque. It's possible that rather the teased engine cover is foreshadowing an IS 500, a conclusion that Lexus Enthusiast also draws, albeit with slightly different reasoning. An IS 500 would be one way for Lexus to squeeze as much use out of its marvelous 2UR-GSE before the V8 goes the way of the dodo, but without having to develop an all-out F model. The original IS F had, among other things, wider body panels, six-pot front brake calipers with cross-drilled rotors, and a Torsen LSD. By not calling an IS F, Lexus could be lowering expectations for enthusiasts of the original who would expect those performance features. Or, if the V8 gods are listening, perhaps Lexus is saving the true F badge for an IS with the rumored twin-turbo powering the LC F. One can hope, right? Related Video:

Toyota will bring Lexus-based Platform 3.0 autonomous vehicle to CES

The Toyota Research Institute says it will bring its next-generation Platform 3.0 automated driving vehicle to CES next week, an autonomous test car that is notable for incorporating the sensors and cameras into the body, rather than as ungainly attachments, and with the spinning LIDAR rooftop sensor replaced by a more sleek panel of sensors. Platform 3.0 is built on a Lexus LS600hL. Toyota Research Institute says it enlisted CALTY Design Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. and engineers at Toyota's nearby North America R&D center to conceal the equipment. As a result, Platform 3.0 gets a new rooftop weather and temperature proof panel, which it says was inspired by off-road motorcycle helmets, integrated into the available space in the sunroof compartment to minimize height. It's also embellished with chrome trim along the side, where it meets the roofline, and the rear swoops down to integrate with the LS's contour lines. The team also managed to consolidate computational electronics and wiring into a small box in the trunk. Toyota says the Platform 3.0 is one of the most perceptive autonomous test vehicles on the road today, with a design makes the test vehicle easy to build at scale. It gets a Luminar LIDAR system boasting a 200-meter, 360-degree range (the previous version only tracked the forward direction), enabled by four high-res LIDAR scanning heads that help it better see dark objects. Shorter-range LIDAR sensors feature low on all four sides of the vehicle, one on each front quarter panel and on the front and rear bumpers, to detect low-level and smaller objects, like children or road debris. Production begins this spring at the Toyota Motor North America R&D headquarters at low volumes to allow for flexibility, given the rapid rate of development of Toyota's autonomous test platforms. Some will be assembled using Toyota's Guardian dual-cockpit control layout to allow for transferring control between a human test driver and the automated system while keeping the driver as a backup, while the single-cockpit, fully autonomous Chauffeur mode will be shown at CES starting Jan. 9.Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Least favorite vehicles of 2017