In August, we got a glimpse of a three-in-one supercar from Slovenia, the Tushek Renovatio. Now, from nearby Slovakia, there's the Praga R1, a track-only featherweight terror.

At an estimated 1,500 pounds with all fluids, the carbon-fiber R1 is just 2.5 inches longer than a Honda Fit and about 40 percent lighter. Its custom monocoque design exposes the front control arms and inner wheels, channeling an enormous duct of air from the aggressive front splitter and Formula One-style noise straight into the midmounted Renault 4-cylinder engine.

While its 208 horsepower may not sound like much, the heavier Lotus Elise makes do with about the same and is one of the quickest cars in a curvy line. Plus, a small engine outsourced from another company saves a tremendous amount of money, which Praga hopes will lure young racing teams into its cars.


Praga is an old name. It began in Czechoslovakia in 1907 and became a major automaker until the end of World War II, when its factories were shut down by the country's communist government. Only in 1996, after decades of building spare parts for all sorts of vehicles, did Praga put its own name on a vehicle (motorcycles, actually, which competed in motocross races until 2003). Today, the company makes go-karts and has sold turnkey race cars since 2010. Praga counts K-1 Engineering, which made the body for the Tushek Renovatio and Praga's first two cars, among its development team.

Praga says it wants to sell the R1 next year but hasn't revealed any performance specifications or price. If it's as good as looks, we imagine it won't be a hard sell.


[Source: Autoblog, Praga]