This is the new version of the Hendo hoverboard

Back to the Future Day wouldn't be complete without a hoverboard announcement, would it? Okay, it might a little late in the day, but Arx Pax finally revealed the new version of the Hendo hoverboard — and it is quite a sight to behold.

The company teased new details about the hoverboard last week, like better battery life, USB connectivity, stronger hover engines, and a safety kill switch. And while the new version is not as futuristic-looking as the renders found on the Hendo website, it strangely looks more rideable than the big, plastic version we tried last year. That's probably because it has a real skateboard deck this time around, grip tape and all.

Tony Hawk helped design the new version

The deck sits on traditional skateboard trucks (not pictured), which is also where the four hover engines connect to the main body. This will supposedly let riders shift their weight much like you would on a real skateboard — something you couldn't do on the old hoverboard. (We've yet to see a video of that in action, though.) The new, skateboarder-friendly design is thanks to none other than Tony Hawk, who apparently had some "frank input" on the hoverboard's design after riding the first version last year.

This new hoverboard will be making its way to the Kickstarter backers who pledged $10,000 to the company last year. That might sound like a crazy price to pay, but Arx Pax CEO told us last week that those donors were mostly small businesses — not individuals — that are looking to open hoverboard parks of their own. Beyond that, the Hendo hoverboard is little more than an advertisement for Arx Pax's newly-patented hover engine technology. But while that tech that might sooner help satellites maneuver in space, or be used in the SpaceX Hyperloop competition, the dream of owning your own hoverboard seems closer than ever.