Boutique automaker Praga begins customer deliveries at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, taking another major step in the world of handmade, track-focused hypercars.
With a curb weight of just 2,300 pounds, the Bohema relies on a version of a twin-turbo 3.8-liter V6 from the R35 Nissan GT-R, good for 700 hp and 535 lb-ft of torque in this state of tune.
The first three examples, with one headed stateside under the Show and Display exemption, have been handed over to customers, with the company planning to produce about 20 units per year.
Praga is far from a household name in the US unless your garage also has a Tatra 603, in which case the hundred-year-old Praga brand will come up from time to time. But the Czech company is far from being seen only in grainy black-and-white footage.
In fact, Praga is now a hypercar boutique brand, and it used the Goodwood Festival of Speed to show off its Bohema production cars.
Each weighing under 1,000 kilos and producing 700 hp and 535 lb-ft of torque courtesy of a twin-turbo 3.8-liter V6, the Bohema was envisioned as a road-legal race car that would go heavy on lightweight materials and aerodynamic tricks to achieve a curb weight below 2,204 pounds.
If the displacement figures of that twin-turbo V6 sound a little familiar, that's because the engine is a version of one found under the hood of the R35 Nissan GT-R, one that has been tuned by UK-based Litchfield Motors.
And as you may have guessed by these parameters, you won't see several of these on your morning commute anytime soon, even if you live in Prague.
As you may have also guessed by now, this assemblage of carbon-fiber bodywork and 700 hp doesn't come cheap: The Bohema requires $1.66 million to obtain, and so far just one of these is headed stateside, well outside the typical federalization process that would make actually all of them magically street-legal in the US.
Bohema's Curious Business Proposition
And it will follow some 30 units of the R1 track car that have already been sold stateside over the past decade.
The Bohema's proposition in the year 2025—when everything is either electric, has over a 1,000 hp, or both—is a curious one, and in a way it's a window into a slightly simpler time not long ago when cars like the McLaren F1 offered plenty of power and capability on and off the track, without overkill.
Those who will understand the formula of the Koenigsegg Gemera will certainly understand the experience promised by the Bohema.
Incidentally, if you would like something with a Praga badge but with just two wheels—a motor-cycle if you will—such a thing is available as well at a considerable discount, at least as it relates to the price of the Bohema.
Street-driving the Bohema, of course, is far from the main point of the car. And we're not even sure just where in the US the roads aren't busted enough to permit one to do such a thing with ease of mind, given that the front apron and other parts, when damaged, will all have to be shipped by air, likely from Europe.
(The good news is that R35 Nissan GT-R parts are relatively abundant, should that ever become an issue).
The Goodwood event was something of a coming-out party for the boutique supercar builder's first road-legal model, with a total of three examples being handed over to customers.
Moldavite Green and Deep Space Violet
"It was a really proud moment for Praga to present our company in the supercar runs and alongside brands like Koenigsegg, Maserati and Gordon Murray," said Tomas Kasparek, Praga Cars owner.
"To also invite our new customers to enjoy this moment with us and take delivery of their cars with all the Praga team was memorable."
One unit finished in Moldavite Green is said to be headed to the Netherlands, while another Deep Space Violet is headed to the UK.
The US-bound model, meanwhile, will simply wear exposed carbon fiber, but all three will feature gold wheels and other gold leaf accents.
"Each car was handed over to their excited clients before Praga's ambassador and test driver, Ben Collins, drove them up the famous Goodwood hill for the ride of their lives," the company said.
If you do have the requisite $1.66 million and (more importantly) the patience to explain to every person who sees you at a stop light or on the track where you've rented time that it's not a Koenigsegg, a Rimac, or a Gordon Murray T.50, or Aston Martin Vaklyrie, but rather a Praga, then Praga might build you one for use on the track and on roads in a jurisdiction where you may be able to obtain plates via the Show and Display exemption—far from a trivial matter of just filling out some paperwork.
But odds are, if you buy one of these it'll be trailered to a country club track of your choice anyway, and you won't have to worry about pesky DMV issues or other paperwork issues mortals have to endure.
So while a Praga Bohema will certainly be a ticket to the track and perhaps the road, if all goes well with the Show and Display application, all examples of Tatra cars, we should note, and most Skodas are eligible for importation and actual road use via the 25-year rule, and some of them do thousands of miles a year on US roads.
And they are certainly not worth $1.66 million, unless you bought out all of Jeff Lane's Tatra collection and threw in a few Skodas as well.
But it's nice to finally have multiple options when it comes to old and new Czech cars and motorcycles in the year 2025.
Does the $1.66 million Bohema and its 700-hp engine represent a logical equation, along with its exclusive badge, or would you rather have a better-known hypercar? Please comment below.
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