Praga goes global as Bohema debuts in Dubai

Three weeks since announcing the new road-legal Bohema hypercar, Praga has moved to The United Arab Emirates for the car’s first public presentations starting with a prestigious launch event held on Saturday evening at The Space in Dubai.

The reveal took place against the fitting backdrop of a one of the UAE’s finest hypercar collections, where the lightweight, track-focused and road-legal Bohema was unveiled in front of an audience of members of the UAE Royal families, hypercar collectors and supercar enthusiasts.

Mark Harrison, Sales and Marketing Director and CEO of Praga Cars UK, said; “It’s a very significant moment in Praga’s 115 year history. I have enjoyed working in the region before and believe the unique mix of the Bohema’s engineering, performance statistics, stunning looks, and build quality will turn heads here. I am convinced hypercar collectors in the Middle East will love this car.”

Also on display at The Space for the grand reveal was a one-off luxury carbon table designed by Praga’s Design Director, Juraj Mitro, and a Dubai Autodrome race-winning Praga R1 prepared and managed by Dragon Racing. It was revealed on the night that Juraj's limited edition carbon tables can be spec'd alongside a Bohema with matching details. Whilst the Bohema and the R1 share no components, three of Praga’s philosophies flow through the table, the race car and the hypercar: carbon construction, lightweight engineering and head-turning design.

Following the launch event Praga will undertake private viewings in Dubai over the coming weeks at The Space as well as at Dragon Racing, the official Praga race car dealer for the Middle East located at the Dubai Autodrome. Basing the business in the UAE until March, whilst a new UK global brand centre is under development in the UK, means that development sessions and test drives for depositers can also be run in the sun on road and track in early 2023. This will provide a perfect opportunity to showcase the Praga Bohema’s potential promised by its 700hp at just 982kgs.

Bohema production does not start until the second half of 2023 following the final six months of development on road and track, with just 10 of the limited run of just 89 cars allocated to customers next year: Praga is now taking orders for 2024 and has already committed the final car, number 89, to a client in the USA.

To find out more visit https://pragaglobal.com/cars/praga-bohema/

Praga Bohema key personnel

Mark Harrison, Sales & Marketing Director, Praga Cars; CEO Praga Cars UK

A long background with automotive premium and luxury brands means that Mark Harrison is well-known in the industry. After over 10 years managing PR offices at Ford and BMW UK, he joined the fledgling McLaren Automotive as PR Director in 2009, before moving to Bahrain as Middle East/Africa Regional Director and ending up as Commercial Operations Director at the MTC where he managed sales for the McLaren P1 amongst other roles. He joined Praga in January 2020 after consultancy spells with Automobili Pininfarina, Princess Yachts and Rimac.

Ivan Krakora, Group Marketing Director

Marketing director Ivan started out as a sports reporter in the Czech Republic, reporting on a variety of sports including Formula 1. He went on to become Head of Communications at Red Bull before concentrating on communications for Red Bull Team Sonka aerobatics, followed by a stint with the League Football Association. He joined Praga in April 2020.

Josef Král, Chief Test Driver

Professional race driver and F1 TV commentator Josef has been responsible for the development of the Bohema on both road and track. Starting out in karts, he moved to Formula BMW single-seaters, followed by three years in Formula 3 and another three years in Formula 2. A move into Formula 1 looked likely, with tests for the Hispania Racing Team (HRT) before an accident caused damage to two vertebrae. Now Josef races with Scuderia Ferrari Praha alongside his development and test driving duties with Praga.

Jan Martinek, Engineering Project Manager

Having grown up with one of Praga’s huge factories at the end of his street, Jan Martinek is fully versed in the culture and history of the company. He studied motor sport engineering at the UK’s renowned Brunel University, then worked with Charouz Racing System as a Mercedes AMG DTM race technician and mechanic before spending three years as a suspension development engineer with Skoda. In 2013 he joined Praga to head up the R1R project, later moving onto the Bohema.

Juraj Mitro, Head of Design

A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava where he specialised in transport design, Juraj has become an expert in composites technology – with a fascinating sideline in high-tech composites furniture. In the 1990s he designed his own high-performance carbon fibre sports car, the K-1 Attack, which is still available to buy as a kit. Juraj joined Praga to design and develop the R1, and has gone on to design the new Bohema using a combination of CFD and physical wind tunnel work.

Tomas Sabacek, Vehicle Performance Chief Engineer

With his expertise in aerodynamics and suspension development, Tomas has been responsible for the development of the Bohema since he joined Praga in 2019. He started his career at TU Brno Racing, working with the suspension team to develop race car aerodynamics, and continued with a number of companies with the design and engineering of mechanical and bodywork assemblies, honing his surface modelling and aerodynamics skills.

Praga Bohema Specifications

Praga Bohema

Vehicle Type: Mid-engine, rear wheel drive, 2-passenger, 2 door.

Engine

Nissan PL38DETT Engine
Cylinders / valves: 6/16
Engine power: 700 bhp @ 6,800 rpm
Engine torque: 725 Nm from 3,000 to 6,000 rpm
Displacement: 3.8l
Top speed: 300+ km/h
0 – 100kmh: Sub 2.3s

Transmission

Bespoke 6-speed Hewland sequential gearbox

Chassis

Carbon fibre monocoque & body
Downforce: 900 kgs at 250km/h
Suspension: Ohlins
Brake callipers: Alcon monobloc 6-pot
Brake Discs: Surface Transform – Carbon Ceramic 380mm
Tyres: Pirelli Trofeo R tyres

Dimensions

Height: 1058mm
Length: 4506mm
Width front: 2070mm
Width rear: 2004mm
Trunk Volume: 100 Litres
Weight: 982kg