On the Roads, In the Fields and In the Clouds
Established in 1907 as a joint venture between entrepreneur František Ringhoffer and the First Bohemian–Moravian Machine Works, Praga—officially named in 1909—has designed and built a wide range of land vehicles as well as aircraft over more than a century of existence.
Praga’s range of land vehicles has included motorcycles, road cars, trucks, buses, agricultural machinery, combat vehicles, and racing cars. Beyond vehicles of their own design, the company has also contributed components and engineering expertise to other manufacturers.
While not as prolific in aviation as in their terrestrial products, Praga devoted part of the 1930s to designing and building aircraft, most of which fell into sport or training categories.
With a history spanning a century, Praga has experienced many ups and downs, including a nearly 70-year stoppage in the production of road cars that lasted from 1947 to 2011.
Broad Appeal Early On
Praga’s first offering to the public was the Charon, produced from 1909 to 1913. The Charon proved very popular and was used extensively throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire, gaining particular favour as a taxi. However, it was not an original Praga design and incorporated many foreign-made parts.
In 1911, Praga introduced the Mignon, the company’s first fully original car design. From the start, it was intended to appeal to a broad range of users and adapt to a variety of tasks. Known for its robust construction and stable suspension, the Mignon saw extensive use in the First World War as both a general transport vehicle and a field ambulance.
The Mignon, a mid-range model, was followed in 1912 by the more luxurious Grand series and in 1913 by the more economical Alfa series. All three models quickly gained international attention and respect, standing as proof that Praga was fully capable of producing world-class automobiles.
Praga typically produced a car model under the same name for several years through many series variations. The name “Alfa,” for example, applies to the original 1913 model through to the 25th and final series in 1942. Approximately 9,250 cars were produced under the Alfa name over three decades. As a result, vehicles bearing the same model name sometimes shared almost no visual resemblance.
While the Mignon, Grand, and Alfa carried Praga’s car division through the first decade of the 20th century, they were not the company’s only offerings. Praga gained a strong foothold in the truck market through several model types: the V-series heavy truck (1911), the L-series light utility truck (1912), the R-series medium truck (1913), and the N-series heavy truck (1915).
Additionally, Praga was active in agricultural machinery during this period through a series of motorised ploughs.
Versions of the Mignon, Grand, V, R, and N all saw military service during the First World War.
The Interwar Years – Roaring and Dirty
As the clouds of war cleared and the carefree excesses of the 1920s took hold, Praga continued developing most of the lines introduced in the previous decade. A notable exception was the V-series heavy truck, largely superseded by the N-series by that time.
The higher spending power of the 1920s resulted in increased demand for the luxurious Grand series and drove the development of the Mignon closer in class and refinement to the Grand. When Mignon production ceased in 1929, the two models shared considerable design and component commonality.
The Grand earned the nickname “The Rolls-Royce of Czechoslovakia” for its luxury, craftsmanship, and use as a diplomatic vehicle. T. G. Masaryk, the first president of Czechoslovakia, was particularly fond of the type.
Unlike the Mignon, the Alfa series retained a more utilitarian focus. Most Alfa developments centred on structural strength and engine power. By the late 1920s, the Alfa featured a substantially reinforced frame and suspension and had seen its original four-cylinder engine replaced by a six-cylinder unit. While the Mignon leaned toward luxury, the Alfa remained within reach for more buyers and gained favour with police forces throughout the interwar period.
A particularly significant addition to Praga’s line came with the introduction of the Piccolo in 1924. The Piccolo played a similar role in the 1920s that the Alfa had in the previous decade: an affordable economy car accessible to the general public—especially appreciated during the Great Depression.
The Piccolo eventually diverged into two versions: the “Classic” compact and the mid-sized “American,” the latter adapted from a failed bid to supply taxis to New York City.
The Piccolo appealed to small businesses and police forces. Produced in high numbers and built to Praga’s high standards, the car demonstrated remarkable durability. In the late 1920s, one Piccolo completed a 10 000-kilometre journey through northern Africa without major mechanical issues.
While the Piccolo and Alfa lines survived the Depression, the more luxurious Mignon and Grand were discontinued in 1929 and 1932 respectively.
A major milestone for Praga came in 1929 with the introduction of the BD 500 motorcycle. It marked the company’s first entry into motorcycle production—and a memorable one. The BD 500 quickly gained a reputation as a reliable workhorse appealing to military and police forces. It also enjoyed success in endurance racing and touring, with notable praise for its ability to handle rough road conditions.
The BD 500’s designer, Jaroslav František Koch, demonstrated the machine’s toughness in 1928 by riding one from Rome to Prague—1,480 kilometres over mostly dirt or gravel roads—in a record 35 hours and 45 minutes.
The BD 500 was produced from 1929 to 1933. Its production ended largely due to competition from smaller and cheaper domestic motorcycles such as those from ČZ, Jawa, and Ogar.
Diversification in Depression
The 1930s forced Praga to rethink its corporate strategy in order to survive. The discontinuation of the Mignon and Grand lines was only part of this shift. During the decade, the company became briefly involved in aircraft, buses, motorcycles, tanks, and other military-specific vehicles. Trucks also began to take precedence over cars in Praga’s catalogue.
Among the notable truck models of the period was the popular and versatile RN series, introduced in the early 1930s. It was later improved to become the RND series, which expanded on the RN’s adaptability and became Praga’s flagship product through the 1940s and into the 1950s. Beyond the baseline truck, the RND was adapted for public transportation, firefighting, ambulance service, and general utility roles. Nearly 17,000 RND-based vehicles were produced.
In 1934 and 1935, the last new car models were added to Praga’s catalogue; the company would not produce another entirely new car for more than half a century.
The Praga Baby, introduced in 1934, was a compact and economical car appealing to budget-conscious buyers. Popular both domestically and abroad, approximately 4,200 Babies were built between 1934 and 1937 before the model was replaced by an updated Piccolo.
Also in 1934, Praga introduced the luxurious Golden in an attempt to reclaim a position in the luxury car market previously held by the Grand series. Only a modest number were produced between 1934 and 1938, likely due to worsening global politics and continuing low demand for luxury cars following the Depression.
Modernisation of the Piccolo line led to new family members: the Super Piccolo of 1934 and the Lady series introduced in 1935. The Lady was intended to replace the “Classic” Piccolo, while the Super Piccolo took over from the mid-sized “American” Piccolo.
Praga Grows Wings
Through the 1930s, Praga was involved in no fewer than 15 aviation-related projects. Most of the company’s aircraft fell into the sport or training categories, though Praga also experimented with fighter, transport, and bomber designs.
Praga’s greatest success in aviation came with the E.114 Air Baby, which first flew in 1934. A light touring aircraft, the Air Baby was dependable, efficient, and easy to maintain. These qualities made it popular both at home and abroad, including under licence production in the United Kingdom.
The Air Baby set several non-stop distance and time-over-distance records for its class, including a world record 1 680-kilometre flight between Prague and Moscow accomplished in a remarkable 15.5 hours.
The German Occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939 brought Praga’s own production to a halt and redirected the company to serve German wartime needs. During this period, production of the Piccolo and Alfa lines came to an end in 1941 and 1942 respectively.
Nationalization and Post-War Decline
Praga spent the early post-war period in recovery and reorganisation. With the final Lady series car leaving the assembly line in 1947, Praga exited the car business until 2011. In 1946 and 1947, the company briefly reopened production of the E.114 Air Baby, offering two updated versions with modern engines.
The Communist coup of 1948 dramatically altered the company’s fortunes. Nationalised and strictly limited in what it could produce, Praga focused largely on existing product lines.
By the early 1950s, the RND series dominated production, remaining in manufacture until 1955.
Praga’s key post-war product was the V3S multi-purpose truck, introduced in 1953. Produced continuously for four decades, the V3S proved durable, popular, and highly adaptable. Built in numerous variants, it became widely exported. Although designed in response to a Czechoslovak Army tender, the V3S found broad civil applications in construction, forestry, emergency response, and agriculture.
With a total production run of around 130,000 vehicles, V3S models remain in use today despite the last units leaving the assembly line in the mid-1980s.
As the 1950s gave way to the 1960s, Praga increasingly found itself producing components for other companies rather than developing its own new products. One significant project was the M53/59 Ještěrka (Lizard) anti-aircraft vehicle, built from 1959 to 1962. Praga, one of three companies involved, provided the chassis and suspension—based on a heavily modified V3S.
From the 1960s to the fall of socialism in 1989, Praga largely faded into anonymity. V3S production continued, but otherwise the company served mainly as a supplier for other manufacturers.
The Fall of Socialism and a Return to Form
Praga re-entered the post-socialist business world through motorcycle production in the 1990s, producing a small series of motocross racing bikes from 1997 to 2003. Economic difficulties forced the end of this brief venture.
During the 2000s, Praga developed a small but diverse product line and honoured its past by reviving names of classic product families—though the modern products often bear little resemblance to their namesakes. Today, the names Grand and Golden are used for utility trucks introduced in 2001, while Piccolo and Baby appear in Praga’s kart racing division.
The Alfa name has also returned, applied to a utility truck from the early 2000s and to a utility aircraft.
Praga has been active in endurance car racing since the introduction of the well-received R4S in 2011. The R4S was followed by the Lotus/Praga LMP, which competed at Le Mans in 2013. That same year saw the debut of the Praga R1 racer.
From the R1 came the company’s first road car in 68 years: the R1R. Owing to its racing pedigree, the R1R sits squarely in the supercar category and is financially accessible only to the wealthy. However, it marked Praga’s return to road-car production for the first time since 1947. To commemorate this milestone, production was limited to just 68 units.
In late 2022, Praga entered the hypercar category with the Bohema. Road-legal yet track-focused, the Bohema boasts a top speed exceeding 300 km/h and represents Praga’s most extreme modern performance car.
Learning More
A visit to Praga’s website will provide you with a wealth of information on both the company’s history and its current activities.
Beyond Prague 