Lexus shows off hoverboard in video

Marty McFly, eat your heart out.

Lexus, the global luxury brand of Japanese automaker Toyota, on Tuesday showed off a functioning hoverboard prototype modeled after the levitating skateboard first depicted in 1989 movie "Back to the Future 2."

In a 2-minute 12-second video, a pro skateboarder is shown trying his hand at the hoverboard, which appears to function much like a skateboard — except for the part where it's not touching the ground.

There's a catch, though. The device only works in a controlled environment with magnets running underneath the surface of the skatepark. The device combines the effects of liquid nitrogen-cooled superconductors and permanent magnets to float above the ground.

It's not for sale.

In the video, pro skateboarder Ross McGouran is shown zipping around a test track in Dresden, Germany, turning tricks, taking spills and riding across water. At one point he zooms high above a Lexus vehicle in a jump.

Toyota said the project began 18 months ago as a partnership between scientists at IFW Dresden and evico GmbH. McGouran tested the device extensively in Dresden.

"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," McGouran said in a statement.

Engineers installed some 200 meters of magnetic track underneath the surface of what they dubbed the "hoverpark."

The company said the device uses two "cryostats," which it described as "reservoirs in which superconducting material is kept at -197 degrees through immersion in liquid nitrogen."

"The magnetic field from the track is effectively 'frozen' into the superconductors in the board, maintaining the distance between the board and the track―essentially keeping the board hovering," evico CEO Oliver de Hass said. "This force is strong enough to allow the rider to stand and even jump on the board."

The promotion is part of Lexus' new ad campaign called "Amazing in Motion."

When the luxury brand first revealed a teaser video showing the hoverboard in June, it generated a feverish buzz online.

As it happens, "Back to the Future 2" depicts the hoverboard in the year 2015 — our current year if you're not keeping track.

It's not the first time a major corporate brand has tried to capitalize on the interest in the futuristic 2015 portrayed in the movie.

Nike plans to introduce shoes with power laces later this year, a nod to the kicks that tighten automatically when Michael J. Fox's character, Marty McFly, puts them on in the film. So, power laces are possible in real life.

But a hoverboard is not. At least for now.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.