It was not too way back when a sure Stig was racing vehicles across the Dunsfold Aerodrome within the Bohema on High Gear. The masked maskot definitely knew race vehicles, and it looks like he’s put his powers to make use of once more … solely to interrupt his personal document.
This time, the Stig (aka Ben Collins) raced a Praga Bohema, a automobile that produces lower than half the ability produced by modern-day hypercars. Was all of it ability then? Nope, a lot of it needed to do with the automobile itself.
Debuting in 2022, the Bohema has definitely come a great distance. It made its manner into the arms of its first house owners late final 12 months, with Praga asserting a triple buyer handover on the forthcoming Goodwood Festival of Speed in July. Breaking the High Gear monitor document will solely add to the automobile’s race credentials.
Praga
However what’s the document? The Praga Bohema supercar set a time of 1:09.8 on the former High Gear circuit, which suggests it narrowly missed out on the earlier 12 months’s document set by the 1,140-bhp hybrid Aston Martin Valkyrie.
“I knew the Bohema can be quick, however Dunsfold’s tight turns and brief straights are usually not superb for a automobile that lives and breathes downforce,” mentioned Collins. “It reveals how potent the combo of light-weight engineering, nice aerodynamics, and pure combustion might be – even up towards hybrid hypercars from established manufacturers with greater than 1,000 horsepower.”
Collins drove the automobile just a few occasions across the lap. He topped the Ferrari 488 Pista’s 1:12.7 on his first flying lap with a time of 1:12.3. Nevertheless, he was nonetheless behind the hybrid Ferrari SF90’s 1:11.3. Collins continued to push the automobile, chopping time each lap till he reached 1:10.9. In doing so, he achieved a document time that was solely two tenths of a second lower than Aston Martin Valkyrie’s.
And very like the Valkyrie, the ultra-light Bohema is made nearly solely of carbon fiber, and has intricate bodywork designed to extract as a lot downforce as attainable. A modified Nissan GT-R 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 engine is tweaked by Litchfield to supply 700 horsepower, which is distributed on to the rear wheels.
Praga
The Praga is, the truth is, road-legal, however its racing-focused suspension and carbon ceramic brakes have been designed to carry out equally effectively on the monitor. The supercar generates 1,984 lb (900 kg) of downforce at 155 mph (250 km/h) and may attain 62 mph (100 km/h) from a cease in lower than three seconds.
The Dunsfold Aerodrome is a circuit that featured in almost each episode of High Gear, which aired from 2002 till 2020. With a lap time of 1:11.3, the Ferrari SF90 Stradale held the document for being the quickest to be recorded on High Gear.
The Ferrari 488 Pista, Dallara Stradale, Porsche 911 GT2 RS, and McLaren 675LT have been subsequent to observe. Since then, the SF90 Stradale misplaced to the Koenigsegg Jesko Assault at 1:10.9, adopted by the Aston Martin Valkyrie at 1:09.6, with the Bohema now sitting within the center at 1:09.8.
There may be, in fact, a bit of disclaimer. The Stig often had just one flying lap to place out a time throughout the High Gear TV period. However, Collins drove the Bohema for numerous laps, which helped him grow to be extra comfy with the car.
Praga
Heck, he even took Misha Charoudin out in the Praga just a few days earlier than he tried the document. To not neglect, components like climate situations additionally have an effect on the outcomes adversely. So, it is probably not a stage taking part in area. Besides, it is a outstanding accomplishment for a boutique producer like Praga.
The Czech automaker has a somewhat wealthy heritage courting again to 1907, which was revived in 2011 with an eye fixed for producing supercars. Every Bohema is hand-built within the Czech Republic. Initially, the corporate solely meant to supply 89 of those, however demand might drive them to supply roughly.
Supply: Praga
