Question · Power, in numbers
What does BHP mean?
BHP stands for brake horsepower — a car's power output measured at the engine's crank, before anything is lost through the gearbox and drivetrain.
BHP, brake horsepower, is one of the most common ways a car's power output gets quoted in the UK. The "brake" part refers to how it was originally measured: an engine on a test bench, resisted by a brake mechanism, which let engineers work out how much power it was producing at a given point. What comes out is the figure measured at the crank or flywheel, i.e. straight off the engine, before the gearbox, differential and tyres take their cut.
That's the detail worth knowing: BHP is bigger, on paper, than the power that actually reaches the road, because every mechanical link between engine and wheel eats a little of it. It's closely related to plain horsepower, which is the underlying unit — BHP just specifies where and how it was measured. If a number like this belongs on your wall rather than in a spec sheet, our car gifts are made for exactly that kind of car obsessive.
Written by Craig Fearn, Petrol & Ink.