Praga Bohema sets amazing Dunsfold lap time
New supercar goes third fastest ever at Dunsfold, behind only Valkyrie and the Renault F1 car...
Praga made many claims about the Bohema’s track credentials during its development, given it was about as extreme as a car with numberplates and a V6 could be. Now we have some idea of just how formidably fast the Czech company’s supercar is - because it’s lapped the old Top Gear test track faster than pretty much any other car in history.
Of course, a Dunsfold lap is hardly the be-all and end-all of supercar supremacy, but a 1:09.84 time - complete with VBox verification - is sensationally quick. It puts the Bohema ahead of all manner of exotica from the Top Gear days and the years after, including the Caparo T1 (remember that?!), Ferrari SF90 Stradale and Koenigsegg Jesko Attack. For some context of how far things have progressed, a whole heap of noughties supercar icons - Veyron, Zonda F, MC12, Enzo, Muricelago SV, 997 GT2 - lapped in the 1:18-1:19 region. So this 700hp Praga is the best part of 10 seconds faster than those, over a lap that lasts less than 80 seconds.
Moreover, Ben Collins was driving the Bohema, so it’s hardly like there could have been a driver better placed to get the most from the car on the track. The onboard is an interesting watch; there’s the nostalgia of a car doing a standing start lap at Dunsfold again, of course, but also the incredible speed and composure of the Praga. That claim of 900kg of downforce at 155mph certainly pays dividends around the second half of the lap; while a little way from that speed (but not much!) at Follow Through, it looks totally trustworthy. And there can’t have been many cars in the history of filming at Dunsfold to hit more than 150mph on a lap, if any.
Quite some achievement, then, to make another of these laps memorable after so many years. Collins said of the 1:09.8: “Setting such a fast time at Dunsfold on regular road tyres was such a thrill. I knew the Bohema would be fast, but Dunsfold’s tight turns and short straights are not ideal for a car that lives and breathes downforce. It shows how potent the mix of lightweight engineering, great aerodynamics, and pure combustion can be – even up against hybrid hypercars from established brands with more than 1,000 horsepower.” Ah yeah, for established brands, see Aston Martin Valkyrie, which went a fraction of a second quicker - 1:09.70 - so the Praga can’t claim fastest production car bragging rights. But it can take ‘fastest ever production pure combustion road car’ honours thanks to the Aston’s lightly hybridised V12. So there’s that. Next stop for the Bohema is Goodwood Festival of Speed - you wouldn’t be against it claiming a few scalps there, either…
Think of this thing as like Ginetta doing another road car, basically.
https://youtu.be/NDfKhBcGh9w?t=425
https://youtu.be/NDfKhBcGh9w?t=425
(for those without long memories, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7S-sOvGHPU)
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