These days, insane horsepower figures are surprisingly common, especially when it comes to the latest-and-greatest top-tier all-electric performance machines. However, the ICE-powered competition isn’t out of the game yet - the new C8 Corvette ZR1 certainly comes to mind, throwing down the gauntlet with over 1,000 boosted ponies from its twin-turbocharged 5.5L V8 LT7 gasoline engine. The question is - is peak power everything? Well, as this Engineering Explained video carefully unpacks, no. No it is not.
The video explores why a nearly 3,000-horsepower EV called the Yangwang U9 Xtreme took almost seven minutes to lap the Nürburgring (6:59.157), almost nine seconds slower than the 1,000-horsepower gas-powered Corvette ZR1 (6:50.763). The video dives into the physics behind energy, efficiency, and traction to explain why more power doesn’t always mean a faster lap time.
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