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It’s not every car company that also builds light tanks and a variety of aircraft, but Praga, the Prague-based company founded in 1907, is one such automaker. Having survived the perils of two world wars, Communist occupation, and the topsy-turvy market of the late 20th Century, Praga is poised to enter a new era with the initial production of the company’s Praga Bohema road-legal hypercar in a dedicated facility in the Czech Republic.
The stunning Bohema will be hand-built in very low numbers over the next four years. One of its calling cards is its incredible lightness of being. At less than 2,200 pounds, it offers one horsepower for every 3.14 pounds. Its 700 horsepower is impressive enough, even in this age of 1,000-horsepower electric cars, but that weight-to-power should result in a startlingly fast road car with remarkable handling. Praga says it “could well be the last all-new petrol-powered hypercar.” The $1.5 million all-carbon aero-driven two-seater built by Czech craftsmen is bound to pique hypercar collectors’ interest.
In other news this week, Volkswagen is celebrating 75 years in the American market, and we’ll give you some of the highlights along the way and talk about the prospects for Volkswagen in the United States going forward. The Beetle first landed here for sale in 1949, and that began an incredible saga that continued in roller-coaster fashion to the present day.
In other news, the Dubai Police have taken delivery of a very unlikely new police cruiser and added it to their fleet this week. We’ll tell you what it is and how it all happened coming up.
In the road test segment, guest Co-Host Matt DeLorenzo will tell us all about the exciting Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray. If a hybrid Corvette sounds just too weird to you, be assured that it isn’t. This super-powerful supercar competitor is a steal at its $100K+ price, and we’ll tell you why.
Also in the road test segment, Host Jack Nerad evaluated the 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz small pickup on one of his frequent trips to the Palm Springs area. While a small pickup might not seem like the best choice for travel with his youngest daughter and wonderful wife, the Santa Cruz turned out to be more like a sports sedan with a huge trunk than a truck. Its 281-horsepower turbomotor got the party started, but it wasn’t the whole story. We’ll have the details.
Finally, you probably heard that the Toyota Prius was named North American Car of the Year, but you probably don’t know the inside story of how and why it won. DeLorenzo and Nerad, both members of the jury, will tell you in this episode.
All that and more are coming up on America on the Road.
America on the Road is brought to you by Driving Today.com, Mercury Insurance, YourTestDriver.com, and EMLandsea.com , the publisher of Nerad’s latest book, Dance in the Dark, which is available HERE on Amazon.com
