Ever heard of a Praga Bohema? If you haven’t, you’re not alone — and you’d be forgiven for thinking it sounds like an architectural attraction on a sightseeing tour, or an expensive handbag. In fact, it’s a super-exclusive mid-engined supercar made by Praga Cars in Prague, Czechia, by a 117-year-old manufacturer that originally built trucks, tanks, karts, motorcycles and airplanes.You’re hearing about it here because the Praga Bohema has set a new lap record for a road-legal car at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium, recording a 2:21.42 lap during a customer track day. Driven by Praga test driver Aleš Jirásek, the Bohema beat a six-year-old record set by a Pagani Huayra Roadster BC. Setting a new record was never part of the plan and was completed on road tyres, with other cars on the circuit. Praga joined customers and guests at a Curbstone track day at Spa-Francorchamps on August 12, bringing a Bohema for what was intended to be a straightforward customer driving event.“We weren’t at Spa to chase a record. We were there with customers to enjoy driving one of the greatest circuits in the world. After a few sessions we realised the conditions were good and decided to see what the Bohema could do,” said Jirásek.“It’s incredible how naturally the car delivers this level of performance. We were on road tyres, there was traffic on track, and the car received no special preparation. That speaks volumes about the underlying capability of the Bohema and the engineering behind it.”The latest Spa achievement joins a growing list of benchmark performances delivered by the Bohema at some of Europe’s best-known circuits.Launched in 2023 as a track-focused, road-legal supercar, the limited-production Bohema will be built in only 89 units priced at around €1.3m (about R24.5m).Launched in 2023, the limited-production Bohema is priced at €1.3m. Picture: (SUPPLIED) Powered by a modified 3.8l twin turbo V6 engine sourced from the Nissan GT-R, the Bohema weighs less than 1,000kg — a featherweight in sportscar terms — and produces 522kW of power and 780Nm of torque. The all-carbon two-seater combines lightweight construction, race-derived engineering and advanced aerodynamics. Power is sent through the rear wheels via a six-speed sequential manual transmission. The car is rated with a 0-100km/h sprint of less than three seconds, a 317km/h top speed and generates more than 900kg of downforce at 250km/h while retaining road-car usability.“This achievement perfectly captures what the Bohema is all about,” said Tomas Kasparek, owner of Praga Cars. “The fact that the car could then go and establish a new Spa benchmark without a dedicated record-setting programme demonstrates the philosophy behind the Bohema. It was never intended to be a compromised track special. Our objective was to combine genuine race-car performance with the freedom and usability of a road-legal supercar.”Business Day