A hover conversion was an application to a ground vehicle to enable it to fly. For the DeLorean time machine, and the 2015 police car, the hoverwheels would fold down when in flight, and exclusively on the DeLorean, the rims and the rear louvers would glow when the car was hovering, or accelerating while in flight. Flying circuits were inserted into the vehicle. It is unknown if there was another source of lift other than thrust, such as anti-gravity or magnetism. Considering the loads that some vehicles produced, and that thrust was not always applied when a vehicle first lifted up, it is feasible that these alternatives could have been used.

Hoverboards were a legitimate use of this technology. Skyways also used hovering lane dividers and signage in order to keep airway travel safe. The technology was developed between 1985 and 2015.

In Hill Valley in 2015, a basic hover conversion cost around $39,999.95. Goldie Wilson III was a car salesman that turned ground vehicles into "skyway flyers".

Doc had a hover conversion made to his DeLorean sometime after traveling to 2015, but it is unknown if this was before or after he discovered Martin McFly Jr. and Marlene McFly were sent to jail for being involved in a robbery plot. The Jules Verne Train Doc built after becoming stuck in 1885 was also hover converted in 2015. It can only be assumed that Goldie Wilson Hover Conversion Systems carried out the work in both cases.

In 1931, young Emmett Brown invented a process to make a flying car, using his future pet Einstein as the first test pilot. But he abandoned any plans to proceed with the experiment after the test flight landed Einstein on the roof of City Hall. Thus, stirring up trouble with Edna Strickland. This and the discovery of the technical principles behind Goldie Wilson III's product may simply be coincidental. But during the short flight some visual similarities to the thrusters on the test vehicle to and DeLorean's flight mode can be observed.

Behind the scenes

The $39,999.95 cost of a hover conversion is most likely a reference to Earl Scheib's television commercials in the 1980s. As the owner of the largest chain of low-cost auto body repair shops in the U.S., his well-known tagline in the 1950s originally stated, "I'll paint any car any color for only $29.99", but by the 1980s his price had increased to $39.99. The extra nines in the price of a hover conversion are a comment on the inflated prices expected in the future, and the marketing tactic of quoting prices just five cents less than a round number.

Appearances

• Back to the Future trilogy
• Back to the Future: The Animated Series
• Back to the Future Part II & III
• Back to the Future: The Ride
• Back to the Future comic series
• Back to the Future: The Pinball
• Super Back to the Future Part II
• Universal Studios: Theme Park Adventure
• Back to the Future: The Game
  • Back to the Future: The Game - Episode 1: It's About Time
  • Back to the Future: The Game - Episode 2: Get Tannen!
  • Back to the Future: The Game - Episode 3: Citizen Brown
  • Back to the Future: The Game - Episode 5: OUTATIME