Czech manufacturer Praga has proven its ability in the racing, karting, biking and aviation worlds, and it now hopes to make its mark in the hypercar segment with the €1.28 million (AU$1.98 million) Praga Bohema hypercar.
The model will be limited to 89 units, with just 10 cars scheduled for production in 2023 and approximately 20 cars per year for the four years following.
The Bohema features a windshield encompassing the cockpit, dramatic front wings with mirrors mounted on thin stalks, and a tall spoiler, all of which leave the model looking like a hybrid between a race car and a fighter jet.
Each model will be hand built in the Czech Republic in the assembly facility of Czech rally legend Roman Kresta and delivered to customers at a race track, rather than at a traditional dealer..
The Praga Bohema is powered by a mid-mounted 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V6 engine from the Nissan GT-R, further modified by Litchfield Engineering to make even more power.
Output targets for the Bohema are 521kW at 6800rpm, and 725Nm of torque from 3000 to 6000rpm. Based on what Litchfield has extracted from the GT-R engines in the past, locking in those outputs shouldn’t be a challenge.
The transmission is a Hewland sequential ‘box with a robotised clutch, sending torque to the rear axle.
A carbon fibre monocoque makes the Bohema one of the lightest hypercars available, with a pre-fuel weight of 982kg compared to the likes of the Bugatti Chiron at 1996 kg or the Pagani Huayra Codalunga at 1280 kg.
The car produces more than 900kg of downforce at 250km/h, with a top speed over 300km/h.
It rides on 18-inch wheels, behind which hide 380mm carbon ceramic discs with six-piston calipers, and an independent push-rod suspension using horizontal dampers.
The interior of the two-person cockpit features 100 litres of luggage space, some of which is in the deep storage spaces in the rear wheel arches.
Praga says it can comfortably fit two, two-metre tall adults in the race-style bucket seats.
The interior certainly lives up to the hypercar title, especially looking at the removable, F1-style leather and Alcantara-trimmed steering wheel that features a digital display and rotary thumbwheel selectors.
The steering wheel, driver’s seat, and pedals are all adjustable, and steps are built into the footwells to help the passenger and driver into the almost horizontal ‘race-position’ seats.
Taking inspiration from Praga’s aviation division, the climate controls are in a ‘fighter-jet style roof console’, and there are even moulded recesses for the passenger’s arms and elbows.
Praga says the model was ‘inspired and guided by’ former F1 driver Roman Grosjean and that the engineering team used an undisclosed Formula 1 team’s wind tunnel to develop the aerodynamics of the car.
The Praga Bohema has only a few final development months to ensure road readiness before it enters production in the second half of 2023, and a final production specification will be presented in early 2023.
Orders for the road-legal Bohema are now open in ‘all major hypercar markets’ including Australia.
