{"id":218,"date":"2017-03-18T23:18:09","date_gmt":"2017-03-18T23:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wheelsnews.com\/?p=218"},"modified":"2017-05-18T13:00:30","modified_gmt":"2017-05-18T13:00:30","slug":"horsepower-measure-machine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wheelsnews.com\/index.php\/2017\/03\/18\/horsepower-measure-machine\/","title":{"rendered":"Horsepower:  The Measure of the Machine"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><strong>Vroooom! Vroooom<\/strong><\/em><strong>!<\/strong> That throaty, low roar generated by a powerful V8 or V12 engine with impressive horsepower&#8211;really gets your attention, right?<\/p>\n<p><strong>There are different standards for measuring different types of horsepower.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For example, there are the mechanical (or <em>imperial<\/em>) horsepower, approximately 746 watts, and the <em>metric<\/em> horsepower, about 735.5 watts. Eighteenth century Scottish inventor and engineer, James Watt, of the Watt steam engine fame, used the term \u2018horsepower\u2019 to compare the output of steam engines with the power draft horses (work horses) could generate. Of course, the <em>watt<\/em>, the SI unit of power&#8211;The International System of Units, the modern form of the metric system&#8211;is named after James himself.\u00a0<!--more--><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-418 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/wheelsnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/9636196907_0cab54ccb2_b-300x300.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wheelsnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/9636196907_0cab54ccb2_b-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wheelsnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/9636196907_0cab54ccb2_b-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The British Imperial System measures one horsepower as equal to 33,000 foot-pounds of work per minute, meaning the power required to lift a total mass of 33,000 pounds one foot in one minute. How does that translate in automotive terms? Horsepower in relation to <em>reciprocating engines<\/em> is usually expressed as <em>indicated horsepower<\/em>, determined from the pressure in the cylinders. A reciprocating engine, or piston engine, is what\u2019s commonly called a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert pressure into a rotating motion&#8211;just like under the hood of your car.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-417 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/wheelsnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/BMW_V8_engine_X5-300x300.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wheelsnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/BMW_V8_engine_X5-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wheelsnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/BMW_V8_engine_X5-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>The challenge:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Getting the power to the ground, quickly and efficiently.<\/p>\n<p>Horsepower, basically how strong your engine is, plus <em>torque<\/em> (the force that makes things rotate or turn; in this case, the force from the pistons that goes to the crankshaft that makes the axles and wheels turn) are among the critical elements in a car\u2019s design and engineering that contribute to things like acceleration rates, stopping distances and fuel efficiency, in other words, performance and functionality.<\/p>\n<p>Cars can be classified as almost anything between \u201cmini-sub-compacts\u201d\u00a0to \u201cmuscle cars,\u201d \u201csupercars,\u201d and \u201chypercars,\u201d with horsepower to match in ranges from the low 100s and 300s, to 500, 800, 1,000 1,200, 1,500, and sometimes more (in pure fantasy concept cars). SAE International power and torque certification provides auto manufacturers a way to assure a customer that the engine they\u2019re buying delivers the specs that are advertised.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Many top-ten lists of 2017\u2019s best high horsepower sports cars\u00a0include the Audi R8 5.2 V10 with standard 5.2L V-10 540-hp engine, and 7-speed auto transmission; <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-419 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/wheelsnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/car-82955_960_720-300x300.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wheelsnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/car-82955_960_720-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wheelsnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/car-82955_960_720-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Cadillac\u2019s CTS-V Base model, including a standard 6.2L V-8 640-hp intercooled supercharger engine, and 8-speed automatic transmission with overdrive, and the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, with a standard list that includes a 6.2L V-8 650-hp intercooled supercharger engine, and 6-speed manual transmission with overdrive.<\/p>\n<p>At another point on the 2017 model year spectrum, the Mercedes-Benz AMG CLA45 Base features AMG 2.0L I-4 375-hp intercooled turbo engine and 7-speed auto-shift manual transmission, the 155-hp, SKYACTIV-G 2.0L I-4 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF Club, sporting a 6-speed manual, and the MINI Hardtop John Cooper Works that comes standard with a 2.0L I-4 228-hp intercooled turbo engine and 6-speed manual transmission.<\/p>\n<p>To put those above specs in perspective, consider the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, called the fastest road car and most powerful production car ever (launched in 2010): 1,200-hp, maxim<br \/>\num torque 1,500 Nm, acceleration from 0 to 100 km\/h in 2.5 seconds, top speed of 415 km\/h.<\/p>\n<p>Now comes \u2018son of Veyron,\u2019 the world\u2019s <em>newest<\/em> \u201cmost powerful, fastest, most luxurious and most exclusive production super sports car: the \u201cquintessential ultimate super sports car\u201d (Bugatti\u2019s descriptor), Bugatti Chiron: 1,500-hp, 16 cylinders, 4 turbochargers. $2.5 million.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Challengers, anyone?<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vroooom! Vroooom! That throaty, low roar generated by a powerful V8 or V12 engine with impressive horsepower&#8211;really gets your attention, right? There are different standards for measuring different types of horsepower. For example, there are the mechanical (or imperial) horsepower, approximately 746 watts, and the metric horsepower, about 735.5 watts. Eighteenth century Scottish inventor and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":418,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Horsepower: The Measure of the Machine - Wheels News | Automotive Industry Buzz<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wheelsnews.com\/index.php\/2017\/03\/18\/horsepower-measure-machine\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Horsepower: The Measure of the Machine - Wheels News | Automotive Industry Buzz\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Vroooom! Vroooom! That throaty, low roar generated by a powerful V8 or V12 engine with impressive horsepower&#8211;really gets your attention, right? There are different standards for measuring different types of horsepower. For example, there are the mechanical (or imperial) horsepower, approximately 746 watts, and the metric horsepower, about 735.5 watts. 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