general question

hytorksc

Registered User
can someone explain to me the difference between torque and horsepower? I thought I knew. I saw a car magazine with a bunch of very high end sports cars (like the newest ferrari) and i noticed some things about their testing. The weight of these cars were between 2700 and 3200 lbs. their engines were rated around 500hp at like 7000rpm, but their torque output was less than 300 ft lbs at 5000rpm.

what i don't understand is that those cars are 800 to 1100 lbs lighter than the SC, but their 1/4 mile times were not that good in my opinion (like low/mid 12's at 120mph), 0-60 in 4.7 seconds. i dont know- i was expecting these "supercars" to run 11's or lower. The best high output SC's put out well over 450 ft lbs. at the wheels and run 12's at maybe 117mph with all that weight.

i just dont understand how a dohc type engine can be rated at 500+hp (like a ferrari) and put out less than 300 ft lbs of torque- and still get away with beating almost anything on the road including the SC. i mean a viper can put out 800hp/800+ft lbs modified and it runs a little faster than those exotics. I mean if someone found a way to make an SC 800 lbs lighter would it run faster than all of them? maybe i'm mixed up about this but i dont get it. could actual leverage at the wheels have something to do with how a car will perform?
 
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