"HP wins sales and TQ wins races."
This phrase is used so often & it just bugs me because some people go off half cocked. Drivers win races but what helps them is HP. HP is a rating of POWER. Specifically HP area under the curve in the relavent rev range is what counts (for the SVT about 4.5-7K RPM). Not peak HP as much as a fat band of power in this range. "Low end torque" is great for around town grunt, an ATX, a good push to the backside, and a good launch but once you clear 4500 RPMs in first (in the SVT example) you will never see it again all the way to top speed. Where big torque comes in is that it tends to "fatten up" the HP curve. For example, it is better to make over 180 HP at the wheels from 5-7K RPM with a peak of 185 HP than to make a very peaky 200 HP after a very steep climb, followed by a quick drop off.
Looking at Steves 3L graphs compared to my 2.5L that makes only 11 HP less at the 6800 RPM peak power point, but at 4500RPM he is making about 157 HP to my 130 HP = 27 HP more. So it will feel & be that much faster rowing through the gears.
