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A peak horspower number does not tell you anything about how much power the engine has across the entire RPM band. A car with a horspower curve that is really 'peaky' is not going to beat one with a lower peak horsepower number but that has a higher average amount of power (torque, actually) across the entire RPM band. That is, unless you are only driving the car in that 'peaky' RPM range.
Another important point is that a car with a higher rev limit can stay in a given gear longer than one with a lower rev limit. What this means is that you can stay in a lower gear longer and take advantage of the torque multiplication of a lower gear. So two cars with identical horspower numbers but different rev limits would favor the one with the higher rev limit.
You need to look at the entire picture to compare the performance of two engines/cars. There are of course other factors such as power to weight ratio and drag coefficient, etc.
Thanks,
Scott Tucker
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