The Praga Bohema Broke a Speed Record at the ‘Top Gear’ Track

The Praga Bohema just broke a lap record for internal-combustion-only production cars at the Dunsfold Aerodrome, the famed site where Top Gear used to film.

Production of the Bohema began last year, when it intended to make its mark with a lightweight design, carbon ceramic brakes, and a race-y suspension. Also, a twin-turbo 3.8-liter V-6 engine from the Nissan GT-R that makes 700 horsepower. That followed the auto’s unveiling in 2022, when it was shown to be modeled after GT3 endurance race cars.

The Dunsfold Aerodrome was the site of Top Gear filming from 2002 until 2020, and the track there featured on almost every episode of the show, with the Stig taking a car around to clock a time after one of Jeremy Clarkson, James May, or Richard Hammond did a review. The track was also the site of numerous celebrity laps in the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car segment, later called Star in a Reasonably Fast Car.

On the show, the Ferrari SF90 Stradale was the fastest ever recorded, in a lap time of 1:11.3, followed by the Ferrari 488 Pista, the Dallara Stradale, Porsche 911 GT2 RS, and the McLaren 675LT. Since then, the Koenigsegg Jesko Attack has bested the SF90 Stradale at 1:10.9, and so has the Aston Martin Valkyrie, with a time of 1:09.6, with the Bohema sitting in between the two at 1:09.8.

To be sure, a lap time at the Dunsfold Aerodrome is not the truest performance metric, even during Top Gear at its peak, in part because conditions could vary. Automakers might also argue that the car tested was not the optimal version of the car, though the driver was consistent in the form of the Stig. Praga had an ex-Stig, Ben Collins, do its time in the Bohema. If nothing else, the Dunsfold record is a potent bit of marketing for potential buyers who likely know Top Gear intimately.

“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,” Collins said in a statement. “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.”

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Praga, a Czech automaker which has a lineage that dates to 1907, was resurrected in 2011 with an eye toward making supercars, though perhaps no one really expected the outrageousness of the Bohema. The company says each Bohema is hand-built in Czechia, and it originally planned to make just 89 of them, though perhaps a few more or less, depending on demand. The car is said to be priced at $1.4 million.