This is a more complicated topic than it seems. I could talk for a long, long time about it and end up not really answering the question.
Torque, measured in ft-lbs, is the twisting force transmitted from the crankshaft to the wheels. The amount of work this twist does at a certain engine speed is the Horsepower. Torque can be directly measured on a dyno, and HP is calculated from the torque, using the equation (HP) = (Torque * RPM) / 5252. This is the reason torque and HP lines always cross on dyno's at 5,252 RPM.
The net power, the sum-total of power an engine develops is NOT fully described by any peak HP number, but by the Area of the HP line of the dyno. This is much easier to describe graphically, and I'm not going to go into Paint and draw anything right now. Ordinarilly now I'd talk about how that crank power hits drivetrain loss coming into the transaxle and then is multiplied by the axle ratio (gear ratio * final drive) before it gets to the ground. Your tire height comes into that too, there is too much brain fog to remember the extact math, its been a while. Basically, our SVT's, stock, put down in excess of 1000ft-lbs to the pavement beneath the front contact patch at the peak of 1st gear. Thinking about Honda tranny's with 25% tighter gearing makes it easy to understand how they get like 1.9s 60' times while we struggle to make 2.2 with way more power.
ALSO, in general, an engine will feel more powerful the lower in the RPM band peak torque and HP occur, for the same reason an aggressivly cammed car feels gutless below 4k, just the other way around.
So, that's all clear now, right? [

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