No longer just a fantasy of sci-fi lovers and boarding junkies, designers at Lexus have unveiled a Back to the Future-style hoverboard in a teaser video posted online.
Lexus claims its hoverboard is the first that uses "magnetic levitation", with liquid nitrogen-cooled superconductors and permanent magnets giving the device "frictionless movement of a kind that had been thought impossible", according to its creators.
Engineers at the Japanese car company have been working with experts in "super-conductive" technology for the last 18 months to create the hoverboard, according to Wired, which they claim is the "most advanced hoverboards the world has seen".
But you will have to take the company's word for it, because the teaser video released by the company showing the hoverboard does not actually show the hoverboard being used or anyone even standing with their full weight on top of it, only the board appearing to hover whilst mysterious smoke seeps out of its sides.
Keen to stress that this isn't any old standard-issue hoverboard, Lexus reassure us that the hoverboard shares many design features with the company's cars, having been constructed with some of the same materials, "such as bamboo".
Mark Templin, executive vice president of Lexus International, said: "It's the perfect example of the amazing things that can be achieved when you combine technology, design and imagination."
And imagination you will need, as the product is unavailable to buy and only due to be tested in Barcelona in the coming weeks ahead of a campaign launch later this summer.
Lexus are not the only company trying to make Marty McFly's adventures a reality in 2015 - the year the hoverboard scene took place in Back to the Future II.
The Hendo hoverboard, endorsed by Tony Hawk and designed by American company Hendo Hover, apparently floats half an inch above the ground and is capable of supporting a 250-pound rider.
The Hendo hoverboard uses electromagnets attached to the bottom of the board that repel any materials not containing iron, so whilst users do not have to worry about bumps and curbs, they may want to look out for any ferrous materials lying under their flight path. Hendo Hover hope to begin shipping their hoverboards in late October this year.
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