What Does Maximum Horsepower Mean?

[McPaisley]

Maximum horsepower refers to the maximum power output that a vehicle can achieve, with horsepower measured in the unit Ps. The Origin of Horsepower: More than 200 years ago, engineers, based on the design by the British inventor James Watt, produced the world's first batch of improved steam engines. A brewery ordered one, intending to replace horses in driving a water pump. The brewery owner wanted to determine whether the steam engine's efficiency could match that of a horse. Therefore, he selected the strongest horse from his stable and made it work continuously for 8 hours without stopping. After calculation, it was determined that a horse could lift 75 kilograms of water by 1 meter per second, hence 1 horsepower = 75 kilogram-force・meters/second. Since then, this has been used as the unit of power for mechanical engines and continues to be used today. Metric Horsepower: Metric horsepower, also known as PS (Pferdestärke), is defined in a way that gives it a value very close to imperial horsepower. It is defined as the power required to lift 75 kilograms by 1 meter in 1 second. That is: 1 metric horsepower = 75 kilogram-force・meters/second = 735 watts.