Praga is a manufacturing company based in Prague, Czech Republic. The company produced motorcycles, automobiles, trucks and airplanes. The Praga V3S 5-ton truck was used by the Czechoslovak Army for more than half a century.[1] The current company produces karts, racing and road supersports and is involved in car racing. It produces up to 7,000 kart chassis every year, making it one of the most successful kart manufacturers in the world.[2]
Praga Charon (cs), the first Praga carPraga MignonPraga Alfa
Praga was founded in 1907 to build motor cars, the first being the Charon, as a venture between entrepreneur František Ringhoffer and the company 1. českomoravská továrna na stroje ("First Bohemian-Moravian Machine Works", later a founding part of the ČKD factories). Ringhoffer only stayed for one year and in 1909 the trade name Praga ("Prague" in Latin) was adopted. One of its early models was built under licence from the Italian company of Isotta Fraschini.
Besides building its own vehicles Praga later also supplied engines and gearboxes for other vehicles, like aircraft and tanks.
In 1929 Praga merged with ČKD, one of Czechoslovakia's largest engineering companies.
In 1932 Praga added a second motorcycle model, the BC. This had a single overhead camshaft engine of 350cc, shaft drive and a pressed steelframe. Praga ended production of both motorcycle models in 1933.
The factory was largely destroyed by air raids in 1945. After the Second World War it was rebuilt and resumed truck and bus construction. The firm was nationalized in October 1945. Passenger cars (only the mid-sized Lady) were also manufactured in small numbers until 1947, for use by government officials.
The M53/59 Praga was a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun developed in the late 1950s. It consists of a heavily modified Praga V3S 6 wheel drive truck chassis and twin 30mm AA autocannon.
In June 2011 the company unveiled their new race car Praga R4 at the Dutch Supercar Challenge in Belgium. It has an eight-cylinder engine of 520hp, and has not yet been homologated for normal road traffic. According to its owner Petr Ptáček, the company is taking gradual steps, so that Praga cars will not only be seen on racetracks, but also made road-legal.[3]
The Praga R1 from 2012 is a race car which competed in the Dutch Supercar Challenge and Britcar sports car racing. In 2016, the company delivered the first limited edition of the supersport road car Praga R1R, a derivative of the R1 race-car. This marks the first road-legal car under the Praga brand since 1947.[4]
All Praga automobile production stopped by 1947, but was restarted in 2011 when Praga constructed the R4S. It utilized a 3.2 liter V8 based on the Suzuki Hayabusa engine and produces 530 BHP, with a total weight of only 880 kilograms. A feature on the R4S are the markings for camber and toe, which eliminates the need of advanced tools, with a specific amount of "clicks" representing a certain degree of camber or toe.
Tank Praga LT vz. 38 (Panzer 38t) in the German Tank MuseumSelf-propelled anti-aircraft gun PLdvK vz. 53/59 (1959–1978). The chassis and motor was produced in Praga.
During the 2013 and 2014 season the Praga R1 was part of the Supercar Challenge. Praga R1 cars participated in the Dutch GT & Prototype Challenge in 2017 and 2018. Praga R1 participated in the Britcar Endurance Championships in 2019-2021. The first-ever running of a dedicated Praga class took at the Silverstone Circuit in April 2021 in the Britcar Endurance Championship, with seven Praga R1 racing cars.[13]
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