When talking about horse power, I think we should also consider torque, and not just at the crank, but also through out the transmission, and also through the ring gear, then we should factor in the weight of the vehicle, loaded, empty etc. then the road up hill, flat, or down hill, and rpm at what part of the power band is the horse power produced and the torque,
I would also factor in how far it is driven under specific conditions,
If driving a midsize car in manila I would probably want low to mid rpm torque primarily,
In my opinion a car can be great at doing one thing only, for example a rail car built for drag racing can not take turns very well. Define the purpose then define the car.