A spec sheet is a row of numbers that assumes you already know what they measure. The thirteen answers below, and the index that gathers them, take the assumption away: what horsepower is a measurement of, why torque and power are two different questions about the same engine, what a turbocharger does that a bigger engine would have done instead, and which of the words used to sort cars into kinds have a definition behind them. You don't need to own a car to read it. Where a page states a figure or a definition, it links the source it came from.
The car, at a glance
| Number | What it measures | Read more |
|---|---|---|
| bhp | How much work the engine can do each second | Horsepower |
| lb ft or Nm | How hard the engine twists, the shove you feel | Torque and power |
| cc or litres | The space the pistons sweep, the engine's size | Displacement |
| 0 to 60 mph | Seconds from standstill, mostly down to grip and gearing | 0 to 60 |
Each answer is short and starts with the plain version. If you came for one number, read that page and stop.
Words that sort cars into kinds
Some car words have a firm meaning and some are mostly marketing. Displacement, bhp and torque are measurements: two people with the same engine and the same test get the same answer. Hot hatch, supercar, GT and JDM are labels. They started with a clear idea and have stretched over the years, so the answers below say where each one came from and how people use it now.
The figures on these pages come from published standards where there is one. The unit conversions use the National Institute of Standards and Technology tables, and the power formula is the standard one that links torque, engine speed and horsepower. Where a word has no official definition, the page says so plainly.
If you are here to buy a print for someone who talks in these numbers, the gift is the quicker route, and the shop shows every artwork with its price.
The reading, in order
- Car questions, answered
- What is horsepower?
- What does BHP mean?
- What is torque in a car?
- Torque against horsepower
- What does 0-60 mph mean?
- What is engine displacement?
- How does a turbocharger work?
- What does naturally aspirated mean?
- What is a hot hatch?
- What is a supercar?
- What is a JDM car?
- What does GT mean on a car?
- How many are still on the road
- Which cars turn historic next
When the words stop being the problem
Somewhere past here the question changes from what the numbers mean to which car you would actually want on a wall. That is the art, where the artworks in the collection, a repaint of your own car and a straight print of your own photograph are the three ways out.
Written by Craig Fearn, Petrol & Ink. Last updated .