Cars that can hover over the ground while speeding along at a fast clip have caught the attention of engineers at Toyota Motor Corporation.

An icon of sc-fi stories for decades, the "hover car" Toyota seems to have in mind is similar to the "land speeder" driven by Luke Skywalker over the baking deserts of Tatooine in Star Wars IV, A New Hope.

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It's probably not like George Jetson's flying car in the classic 1960s cartoon series, The Jetsons, which looks like and flies like a flying saucer.

Toyota's managing officer Hiroyoshi Yoshiki said his company might build a hover car in the future. The reason behind Toyota's apparently sudden interest in this sci-fi mode of travel is to eliminate road friction and enhance a car's efficiency.

Yoshiki, however, didn't reveal more details such as the power source that will run the vehicle. He said there aren't any definite plans to build a prototype but the concept is being considered by Toyota's research and development teams.

Other news reports, however, said the project is really underway at one of Toyota's most advanced research and development facilities. Rumors say the Toyota hover car will float just a few centimeters off the ground. Other sources said the hover car's distance from the ground will be measured in microns and not centimeters.

A floating car will essentially be frictionless and this characteristic brings its own share of unique problems. Braking becomes a major problem as does the power source that will enable the car to hover.

It is another startling piece of news from Toyota. Last January, the company first announced a fuel cell vehicle electric concept car that will hit the market in 2015 at the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show at Las Vegas.

At CES, Toyota unveiled its next generation of fuel cell powered cars under its "Toyota FCV Concept" and the ultra compact EV "Toyota i-Road." Toyota displayed three unique concept cars.

TagsToyota, hover cars, future