Praga proves Bohema is not evaporative software by delivering first

Thanks to its low power-to-weight ratio, the Czech supercar accelerates from 0 to 62 mph in just 2.3 seconds

In a world filled with carbureted supercars and half-baked supercar concepts, the Praga Bohema emerges as a rare breed: a car that promises to actually make it into production. Today, the first customer took delivery of their Bohema in the Netherlands, delivered on site by none other than racing and development driver Romain Grosjean.

The long-awaited reality

For those who may have (understandably) forgotten, development of Bohema begins in 2022. Since then, Praga has tested, improved and standardized production until today. The cars hand-built at the Plága factory in the Czech Republic are truly jaw-dropping. Don’t believe me either – James May and Jeremy Clarkson were also impressed when they drove it last year.

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Under the Bohema’s rear decklid is a 700-hp (521-kW) twin-turbocharged V6 engine built by Litchfield. The engine was originally a Nissan GT-R engine, but Litchfield later converted it to a dry-sump unit, replaced the turbocharger, and added a titanium exhaust pipe. It sends the generated power to the rear wheels via a Hewland sequential gearbox. What’s more, thanks to its carbon fiber construction, the vehicle weighs only 2,300 pounds (1,000 kilograms). If you look closely, that’s less than the Mazda MX-5.

Needless to say, this power-to-weight ratio results in excellent performance. Praga claims the Bohema can hit 62 mph (100 km/h) in just 2.3 seconds and has a top speed of 197 mph (317 km/h). To the uninitiated, this acceleration can make you question your own mortality.

Road-legal rail cars

But the Bohema isn’t just fast in a straight line. Praga says the car will be able to match the lap times of GT3 cars when running on street tires. What’s more: you can legally drive it on and off the track. In a market saturated with race cars that are almost entirely unusable in everyday life, this is an impressive feat.

As Praga owner Tomas Kasparek said, “Our commitment has always been, no concepts, no trailers, no nonsense… just a pure car for the few supercar buyers who actually know how to drive. , lightweight, extremely fast and beautifully appointed road-legal race car – and that’s what we delivered”.

Grosjean’s view: A truly usable supercar

How is the Bohemian to drive? Romain Grosjean, who has spent considerable time sitting on some of the world’s best machines, has nothing but praise for it:

“I was amazed by the Bohema’s amazing performance on the track, its accessibility on the road and the ease of transition between the two. The Praga really fulfilled my challenge,” he explains.

“On the road you can drive smoothly, the car smooths out the bumps, you can chat with the passengers and everything is calm. Then just switch focus and get on the track. Same clothes, same car, but the feeling changes and you Push the limits again and again, achieve amazing lap times and discover incredible possibilities in Bohema,” he added.

This makes sense, as this is a custom chassis and bodywork designed in-house by Praga and then tested in the F1 wind tunnel. In 2012, Praga started building race cars, so it put the knowledge it learned there to good use. The result sounds like a truly well-rounded machine. In fact, even former Top Gear player Stig Ben Collins liked the pre-production prototype when he tried it in 2022.

The cockpit accommodates two six-foot-five-inch adults. The seat, steering wheel and pedals are all adjustable for the best fit. Buyers will also enjoy what Praga calls “generous luggage space.”

Production will continue for the next four years, with a maximum of less than 20 cars per year. That is, assuming it can find a buyer willing to pay €1.36 million ($1.43 million at current exchange rates).

Anti-Steam Software Hero

It’s a soft-walking, big-stick-carrying attitude that few automakers can pull off these days. Even large companies like Tesla may end up relying on big, flashy concepts to sell cars or drive up their stock prices. In a world filled with too many concepts that fail to translate into real cars, the Praga Bohema is an outstanding example of something that just does the damn thing.

Image source: Prague