Heart of Godzilla

Powered by a 700bhp version of the mighty 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 from the Nissan GT-R and weighing less than 1000 kilos, the Czech-built Praga Bohema is a carbon-tubbed £1million-plus road and track hypercar that's aiming to shake up the establishment. We sample it in advanced prototype form

- JETHRO BOVINGDON

THIS IS THE PRAGA BOHEMA. THE SHORT version of this story is that the Bohema is another hypercar with track focus and a price tag of well over £1 million. Praga hopes to build 89 examples and claims that even on extreme road tyres - Pirelli P Zero Trofeos - the Bohema will deliver lap times comparable to a GT3 race car. It is a familiar tale. But on a cold, sunny day at Dunsfold airfield, this car and its specification has me gripped. It seems real and pragmatic but also outrageously exotic and full of beautiful engineering details.

There are so many questions. Not least of which is, who the hell is Praga? We'll get to that. First I want to run through a few salient points to prove that this is a serious project, the most encouraging of which concerns the engine. Nissan has never granted another manufacturer access to the 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V6 developed for the GT-R. Until now. The Bohema weighs 982kg wet, features a carbon-fibre tub, pushrod suspension, carbon-ceramic brakes and will run a 700bhp version of the VR38DETT engine (labelled the PL38DETT) in partnership with Nissan and renowned GT-R specialist Litchfield. It doesn't seem unreasonable to suggest that, with Litchfield involved, 700bhp is probably just the beginning...