- Czech Republic’s Praga has delivered its first Bohema hypercar
- The mid-engine hypercar features carbon-fiber construction and a tuned Nissan GT-R engine
- Pricing starts at $1.5 million and only 89 will be built
Many performance cars are billed as race cars for the road, but few are more worthy of that claim than Praga’s Bohema hypercar.
Praga is a historic Czech company that today has an automotive division that builds race cars, and in 2016 it built its first road car derived from a race car, the R1R. Only one prototype example of the R1R was built, but taking experience from the project, Praga has spent the past seven years developing a new, even more extreme road car. The resulting Bohema is now finally being delivered to customers.
Praga Bohema first customer car
The first customer car was delivered to its owner in the Netherlands on Friday. Just 89 examples are destined to be built in total, a number chosen at the Bohema’s 2022 debut to mark the 89th anniversary of Praga’s historic win in the 1933 1000 Miles of Czechoslovakia race. The cars are being built at a rate of roughly 20 per year, and some are even bound for the U.S., 24 in total, with deliveries here scheduled to start next spring. The price for one is 1.43 million euros (approximately $1.5 million).
In the two years since the Bohema was first shown to the public, Praga has made some changes, including further boosting performance. A peak output of 700 hp still comes from a Litchfield-tuned Nissan GT-R engine, with modifications to the twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V-6 including a dry-sump lubrication system and a titanium exhaust that runs from the turbos back. Praga said it picked the engine because of its ability to deliver big power in combination with strong reliability credentials.
Praga Bohema first customer car
The engine is mounted behind the cabin and paired with a Hewland sequential transmission, and drive goes to the rear wheels only. Lightweight construction, which includes a carbon-fiber tub and carbon-fiber body panels, means the curb weight is only around 2,300 pounds, resulting in a power-to-weight ratio superior to most supercars and even some race cars.
The aerodynamics also play a key role to the car’s performance. Extensive testing in a Formula 1 team’s wind tunnel has resulted in an aero package that delivers close to 2,000 pounds of downforce at a speed of 155 mph. This makes it possible for the Bohema to deliver up to 2 g of lateral acceleration during cornering.
Praga Bohema first customer car
Other performance claims include a 0-62 mph time of 2.3 seconds and a top speed of 197 mph. Praga also stated that the Bohema can deliver GT3 race car-matching lap times on road tires, with the genuine ability to drive to and from the track. There’s also some practicality included, such as a pair of custom-fitting luggage pieces that fit into the side pods.
To ensure the car is still pliable on the road, Praga developed a suspension system featuring pushrod-operated adjustable dampers mounted horizontally for maximum travel while minimizing bodywork height. With the unsprung mass being less than 400 pounds, Praga stated it was able to forgo a more complex adaptive suspension system. The wheels measure 18 inches up front and 19 inches at the rear, and housed within are six-piston calipers clamping down on 15-inch carbon-ceramic rotors.