Praga R1
A small company builds a racing car
around an engine borrowed from an established manufacturer. This description
could fit any number of carmakers, such as Ariel or Caterham. The thing is,
most of them call the British Isles, not Slovakia, home.
Praga Racing is based in Orechová Potôň,
a village in Southwest Slovakia with a population of less than 2,000. Don’t let
this fool you, because the company is far more serious and said village
is also the place where the Autodrom Slovakia Ring, a track built in 2009 that
has hosted FIA World Touring and GT1 championship races, is located.
It may boast only 207 HP from its
mid-mounted 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that’s the same as the one used in
the Formula Renault, but it also has a kerb weight of only 590 kg, thanks to its carbon fiber chassis and carbon and Kevlar bodywork,
which makes for a low 3,58 kg/kW weight-to-power ratio. Even though no official
numbers are announced, performance is bound to be more than adequate.
The F4R 832 engine features a Cosworth /
Pectel ECU with traction control and transmits its power to the rear wheels via
a Hewland six-speed sequential gearbox placed in the rear, in a transaxle
configuration, with pneumatic paddle shifts and a ZF Sachs twin-plate clutch.
There’s a fully adjustable double-wishbone aluminum suspension all around while
AP Racing discs with four-piston calipers take care of braking.
The wild-looking R1 not only conforms to
all FIA safety regulations, but it can also be fitted with a passenger seat and
front lights if the owner so wishes (rear lights, along with turn signals, are
standard).
