Praga Bohema Looks Like An Impressive Prospect
Just 89 will be built, each with a starting price of 1.1 million GBP.
We’re in an era where nearly every type of car, be it a city runabout or a track monster, has one thing in common – a propulsion system powered solely by electricity. Or, at the very least, assisted by it. However, neither case holds with what you see here. It’s called the Praga Bohema – a new hypercar inbound from Czechia. At first glance, it would appear like a track-only application. But it’s a two-seater race-bred road car.
Before getting to the car and what it aims to deliver in production guise, let’s shed some light on Praga. It’s a 115-year-old company based in Prague. Over the years, it has built automobiles, tanks, and aircraft, among others. The brand has been absent from the car-making fraternity for decades, but it has been active in several on- and off-track racing scenes globally. And the experience garnered from the challenging world of motorsports has trickled down into the Bohema.
For the Bohema, which will enter production next year, Praga has set some ambitious targets. The first one is the weight (wet without fuel). The figure will be south of 1,000kg (982kg is the goal). To achieve that, Praga has used carbon fibre, magnesium and titanium extensively throughout the car. The chassis, for instance, is carbon monocoque, whereas the exhaust system from turbos to the tailpipes is all titanium. In addition, the Czech are adamant that by using 56 individual carbon parts along with lightweight materials like Alcantara, the cockpit shouldn’t weigh more than 34kg. The unsprung weight (target) is 180kg.
The engine? That comes from Japan. More specifically, Nissan. The 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V6 is the same powerplant that has powered the highly-acclaimed GT-R. Praga will give that engine to Litchfield Engineering, a UK-based engineering firm, for changes and an output of up to 700bhp/725Nm. A 6-speed sequential unit handles transmission duties, and, as per Praga, it is efficient enough to deliver a 0-100kmph sprint time south of 2.3 seconds and a top speed north of 300kmph.
Helping the car’s dynamic ability are the pushrod-operated adjustable dampers, carbon ceramic brakes and incredible downforce of up to 900kg at 250kmph. By default, Bohema comes with 18-inch wheels at the front and 19-inch rims at the rear. But to make the car compliant with FIA GT3 specs, the low-slung, mid-engined hypercar can accept 18-inch wheels as the back.
On the features front, the Praga Bohema comes with launch control, a multi-function steering wheel, electronic door releases, air conditioning and a place to mount a smartphone. The sense of weight-saving is quite evident here, but that does have plenty of plusses for keen drivers and those who want to set lap records.
Praga will build just 89 examples of the Bohema, honouring the 89th anniversary of its 1922 road-race victory. Naturally, each one will be hand-built, and that process will commence next year. Only 10 units will be built in 2023, with nearly 20 units per annum planned for the next four years. As for the price, that’ll start at 1.1 million GBP.
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