What does HP, KW and PS mean ?
The engine’s power is commonly measured in Brake-Horse-Power (bhp), Pferdestarke (PS) which is the German translation of horsepower. Metric system uses kilowatt (kW) unit of measurement while in the case of the imperial/British system, it is ‘feet-pound-force-per-second‘ (fps).
HP vs BHP
HP is the measurement of an engine’s power without any power losses. This is the power output of any engine measured at the engine’s flywheel.
Unlike hp, Bhp is the power output measured at the wheels. (including clutch and transmission) What BHP actually measures, is the maximum rate of acceleration and the top speed of the car.
Difference between bhp and hp in engine :
- HP is the output horsepower rating of an engine, while BHP is the input brake horsepower of any engine.
- BHP = (HP – losses).
HP vs PS
Another common engine measurement to see is PS. This stands for the German word Pferdstarke which when translated means horse strength. This was an attempt at making hp metric. In this measurement 1 PS is the equivalent of 98.6% of 1 hp.
1PS = 0.986Bhp
HP vs KW
In 1992 the European Union selected kilowatts (kW) as the official measure. However, this tends to be a smaller number so many manufacturers stick to using bhp. For instance, the engine power of an Aston Martin DB9 can be expressed as 540 bhp or 403 kW.
1kW = 1.341Bhp
1Bhp= 745.7watt
For Example
- Nissan Skyline GTR R34: 206kW = 276hp = 280PS
- McLaren 570S: 419kW = 562hp = 570PS