Exclusive: Loprais’ “Dakar” Praga is a model for the successor to the famous V3S

Praga is preparing a new type of truck. According to our information, the V4S model should have the same use as the famous “fan”. The concept and design should also refer to this model.

Aleš Loprais and his team of mechanics are currently intensively finishing work on this year’s version of their Dakar racing truck. Just like last year, it will be Praga Lady, or Praga V4S DKR. He will leave for the port of Marseille on November 29, where the racing machines will be embarked for participation in the Dakar 2021 race.

You can look at our commented photo gallery on the preparation of the car for the race, its details and shots from last year.

“This is actually a purebred racing special that is made up of various parts. The basis of the chassis is, for example, the central support pipe of the Tatra car manufacturer, the engine is originally from Iveco, Italy, and so on, ”he explains.

However, this car is actually part of a marketing strategy for the planned renewal of Praga trucks intended for the civilian sector.

“The idea began to germinate in me three years ago. Prague was already a sponsor of my sports activities at the time and I worked very well with it, ”says Aleš Loprais. In the end, I decided to build a car that will be presented when racing on long-distance rally companies with the historical logo of a traditional Czech carmaker.

More or less simultaneously, initial work began on the development of a car intended for civilian use. “The idea is to offer municipal services, foresters and other entities a car that does not have to cover long distances, but can handle the hard work so-called” around the chimney, “explains Loprais.

It must, of course, be sufficiently powerful, reliable, and “foolproof.” In short – the true successor to the legendary fan, “he says. There is now a sketch of the “tipper” variant, but the number of variants available for use is almost endless. According to Loprais, the Praga V4S should be offered in 4×4 and 6×6 versions.

The car gets the engine under the hood

The exact technical specification of this concept is still being solved, including, for example, the supplier of engines, axles and other parts. “Now everything has been slowed down by a pandemic, but this project is still in progress,” confirms Petr Ptáček, who at Praga is currently focusing on other projects.

Unlike most current trucks that work in Europe and have a trambus cab (ie the engine under the seats), the new Praga truck is designed with a “nose”. “It’s more convenient in terms of safety, engine cooling and overall aerodynamics. The disadvantage is, of course, the smaller loading area, but this shouldn’t matter much with a vehicle oriented in this way, ”explains Loprais.

The Loprais racing special looks basically the same from last year’s, but there are a lot of changes hidden under the surface.

“We focused mainly on eliminating the childhood diseases that a brand new car did have last year,” he explains. This means that the cooling of all essential components has been adjusted, we have worked on the cab suspension, we have improved the methodology of changing wheels in the event of a defect, we have changed the map of the automatic transmission, added the possibility of paddle shifting at the steering wheel and many other details.

At the time of my visit to the premises of Loprais companies in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm, work was already underway on the assembly of new and refurbished parts. “Except for the frame, the cab and one part of the engine, everything is new and I believe it will work to our satisfaction. The originally intended test at the Baja plant in Dubai was canceled due to the closure of the company, so Loprais’ team had to thank the testing in Poland. “We also have a dune there. But in order to really thoroughly verify the cooling of the car and other things, we still have to cross it for two hours, ”he concludes with a smile.

If the technical inspection is successful, and everyone successfully passes the two-round testing for Covid 19, Praga V4S will start the race on the third of January next year. The goal is, of course, an attack on the front rungs.

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