Originally Posted by HDDP
Not a single part of the car was attached, nor were any of the accessory pumps, alternator etc. It was literally an engine on a platform attached to a dyno with advanced timing and none of the restrictive exhaust components.
This is actually par for the course. Any HP number you see posted by a manufacturer will be power measured at the crankshaft and will usually be corrected for temperature, humidity, and altitude. In most cases, the power measured at the wheels will be 10 - 15 percent less due to driveline loss. The number you posted (203 HP) is in the 5 percent range, which is surprisingly efficient.
Case in point: My beloved Buell S1W "White Lightning" was marketed as having a 101 HP. My totally stock bike pulled 79 HP on the dyno. After installing an exhaust, intake, carb, and ignition module, the bike managed to crank out 92 HP. If I wanted to get a true 101 HP at the wheel then I would need to start doing internal work on the engine or add forced induction.
HDDP is correct in the fact that a good gauge of the "fun factor" of a vehicle is to look at the number pounds each HP has to push around. So using his numbers, the Crossfire comes in at 15.27 lbs/hp. The only way to increase the fun factor is to either gain HP or lose weight.
Let's look an another car that's in the ballpark with ours, the Nissan 350Z (with the track package). Here are the
numbers from Sport Compact Car magazine:
Claimed HP: 287
Measured HP: 249
Curb weight: 3,197
That's a 14% loss of power and 12.8 lbs/hp
By comparison, the Dodge Viper has 6.8 lbs/hp and the Z06 Corvette has 6.3 lbs/hp, and my Buell has 4.6.
