formula 1 driver co-develops praga's road-legal racing car ‘bohema’

Romain Grosjean with Praga’s Bohema

Former Formula 1 and current IndyCar driver Romain Grosjean challenged Praga to develop a two-person track performance car that could also be used on roads. The automotive company took him up on his dare. The team behind the project worked with him in the transition of the car design from road to track, including the racing driver’s six-kilometer Slovakia Ring circuit testing. The result culminated in a track-focused racing vehicle Bohema, a road-legal hypercar that is both lightweight and high-powered.

images courtesy of Praga

The team of engineers and designers are the masterminds behind Praga’s Bohema. They have mastered wind tunnel testings with an F1 racing team to guarantee that the hypercar’s over 900 kgs of downforce at 250 km/h and top speed of just over 300 km/h are both consistent.

Unnecessary electronics and excess weight are stripped from the overall car design whose frame is made from carbon fiber. For the team, it’s all about aerodynamics, lightness, and track experience on highways and roads. As the team likes to put it, ‘Being fastest is not just about max power, but an obsession with a weight that delivers extreme performance at just 982 kilos.’

Praga’s hypercar Bohema

Upgraded interior for daily use

A fast car for daily use allows Praga to focus on the features that can make daily driving with Bohema full of ease. ‘Just because it’s race-bred doesn’t mean it can’t be luxurious and practical,’ the team writes on its site. The Bohema then features air conditioning, tailored luggage compartments, Alcantara leather-clad interior, and ergonomics for two tall adults to sit comfortably. Gold buttons appear along the control panel, a deviation from the dark cushion palette. A hidden pop-out smartphone holder allows drivers to anchor their devices and be used for GPS navigation.

side view

The steering wheel can steal the show which is a Bohema exclusive. The team developed it to fit the driver’s hands regardless of the size. It is square-shaped look holds a screen in the middle that displays the car’s cruising speed while buttons to assist the driver’s ride are positioned on the side of the screen, within the thumbs’ reach as they hang on the steering wheel. A piece of tailored luggage on the side of the interior easily slips in and out for the riders to tuck in their track gear or equipment when needed.

rear view

A hypercar to enjoy on road

Romain Grosjean went on to test Praga’s Bohema at the Slovakia Ring circuit. ‘It’s not a car to drive through the US, West Coast to East Coast say, if you are looking for a nice, comfortable and smooth road trip. But it’s a car that you can really enjoy on road, go through the ’box and drive straight to the race track – and then on the race track you totally forget that it’s a road car,’ he shares with the team of Praga on the company’s site.

Grosjean adds that while there’s a bit of vibration, braking has been good overall. For him, the gearbox on the road could be smoother and the cushion of the seat could be fine-tuned to the size of the driver. On the other hand, he says that when he put the steering wheel on, the dash came on straight away and he didn’t have to wait for 20 seconds.

He applauded the level of comfort he felt while sitting and the ease to access the indicators when he needed them. ‘After two years away from the project in the US, I didn’t really know what to expect when I came yesterday,’ he says. ‘But I went from good surprise to good surprise.’

Praga’s Bohema is a hypercar that can be enjoyed on road