Metric horsepower began in Germany in the 19th century and became
popular across Europe and Asia. The various units used to indicate this
definition ("PS", "CV", "pk", and "ch") all translate to "horse power"
in English, so it is common to see these values referred to as
"horsepower" or "hp" in the press releases or media coverage of the
German, French, Italian, and Japanese automobile companies. British
manufacturers often intermix metric horsep...
more
Metric horsepower began in Germany in the 19th century and became
popular across Europe and Asia. The various units used to indicate this
definition ("PS", "CV", "pk", and "ch") all translate to "horse power"
in English, so it is common to see these values referred to as
"horsepower" or "hp" in the press releases or media coverage of the
German, French, Italian, and Japanese automobile companies. British
manufacturers often intermix metric horsepower and mechanical
horsepower depending on the origin of the engine in question.
Metric horsepower, as a rule, is defined as 0.73549875 kW, or
roughly 98.6% of mechanical horsepower. This was a minor issue in the
days when measurement systems varied widely and engines produced less
power, but has become a major sticking point today. Exotic cars from
Europe like the McLaren F1 and Bugatti Veyron are often quoted using the wrong definition, and their power output is
sometimes even converted twice because of confusion over whether the
original “horsepower” number was metric or mechanical.
(From Wikipedia, “Horsepower.”)
