Is 400 horsepower a lot? (2024)

I’ve been casually browsing around looking at different cars, and I keep seeing different horsepower numbers pop up. I’ll admit I don’t know much about horsepower. Is 400 horsepower a lot?

Hey, not a lot of people bother to look at horsepower when it comes to cars, especially people just looking for family

sedans and SUVs

. They’re more concerned about comfort, cargo space, and miles per gallon. Horsepower is usually the last thing on people’s minds.

But for car enthusiasts looking for power and acceleration, horsepower is one of the magic numbers. Whether 400 hp is a lot depends entirely on the type of car. For a supercar, it isn’t much, but for a family sedan, it’s more than you’d need.

However, for sports and luxury cars, 400 is a solid amount. Because horsepower is simply a unit of measurement for an engine’s power output, there are other factors that can determine whether it’s sufficient, such as the weight of the car, the brake horsepower (which is a separate number!), and

torque

.

If you’ve got a sports or luxury car, you hit the sweet spot if it has at least 400 horsepower. And if you’ve got the

Jerry

app, you’ve hit the jackpot when it comes to saving on your car insurance rates!

Jerry curates quotes from more than 50 insurance companies and delivers the best deals straight to you in less than a minute. Average users save $887 a year on car insurance, even on pricier cars like sports cars and luxury sedans.

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Is 400 horsepower a lot? (2024)

FAQs

Is 400 horsepower a lot? ›

300–400 horsepower — Delivers supercar acceleration and speed for most drivers. 400–500 horsepower — Common in pro-level sports cars meant for track and racing use.

How fast is a car with 400 horsepower? ›

Performance Specifications
ModelNissan Z
Horsepower400 @ 6,400 RPM
Torque350 Pound-feet @ 1,600 RPM
DrivelineRear-wheel-drive
0-60 MPH4.5 seconds
2 more rows
Mar 12, 2024

How much horsepower is considered fast? ›

275 horsepower is where thrills begin, and speed starts to take priority over efficiency. Is 350 horsepower fast? 350 horsepower in a car is rarely not considered fast; the thrills reach roller-coaster levels here.

Is 400bhp fast? ›

It's enough to be fast - properly so, on the right road - and not get left behind by reps in BMW 320ds - but not enough that you can never use it. You can really drive the wheels off a modern hot hatch, and with a bit of care, rarely go too fast that you'll fear for your license.

Is 400 hp a lot for a pickup truck? ›

For a daily driver pickup, yes. Most full-size pickups range between 150–300. Most compact pickups usually stay in the 100–200 horsepower range. Horsepower is only half of the equation though there isn't enough torque to justify the use of high horsepower.

What is a good horsepower for a car? ›

A compact car needs around 180 horsepower to be considered good horsepower for the vehicle's weight. A great example is the Honda Civic, which averages 158-180 horsepower. For midsize cars, 250 horsepower is more than enough, while it's not uncommon to find models with power figures as low as 180 horsepower.

Is 500 hp too much for street? ›

500HP isn't much of a problem on the street. I will agree it's all in how you make it... and how you drive it. Nolands 383LT4 is a pretty mild combo with a small cam and fairly low compression, built more for ease of operation than all out power. It still makes 500 easy HP.

How much horsepower is impressive? ›

300–400 horsepower — Delivers supercar acceleration and speed for most drivers. 400–500 horsepower — Common in pro-level sports cars meant for track and racing use. 500+ horsepower — Found in top-tier exotic supercars. Provides incredible power only suitable for expert drivers.

How much horsepower is noticeable? ›

The amount of horsepower gain that is noticeable can vary depending on the vehicle and the driver's sensitivity. However, on average, a gain of 10-20 horsepower can be felt by most drivers. A 50 horsepower gain is definitely noticeable and can make a significant difference in the performance of a vehicle.

Is 300 hp a lot for a car? ›

FAQs. Is 300 horsepower a lot for a car? It depends on some factors, like the size and weight of the car as well as what that engine was designed to do (go fast or pull hard). In general, though, yes, 300 horsepower is a lot.

What does 400 hp mean? ›

So, let's say your car's engine can generate 200 pounds of force and move at a speed of 2 feet per second. The engine horsepower would be 400 (200 x 2). Horsepower is often used to describe the power of cars, trucks and other vehicles. But it's also used to express the power that a machine, motor or engine produces.

How fast is 1000 hp in mph? ›

That being said, a 1,000 HP street car that can get all the power to the ground is about an 8.5 second 1/4 mile car that will trap (end of the track) over 150 mph. So, to put it in the context of a normal driver - if you are driving at 35 mph and floor it, you will be doing 100+ mph in about 3 seconds.

Can a car go 800 mph? ›

Bloodhound LSR rides the highway to the danger zone. Bloodhound in afterburner. “I treat Bloodhound as a very low-flying airplane,” says Ron Ayers, the chief aerodynamicist for the Bloodhound Land Speed Record project—a Mach-busting car designed to exceed 800 mph.

What truck has 400 hp? ›

HP: 400 @ 5800

The 2021 Nissan Titan full-size pickup provides power, strength and versatility for whatever a driver would need.

What trucks have 400 hp? ›

Matching the Silverados in horsepower, the Nissan Titan and Titan XD. each come with 400 hp. These trucks balance comfort and capability, although they don't lead the pack in towing and payload capabilities. Moving up the ladder, we have the 2023 Ford F-150 and the 2024 Toyota Tundra, peaking at 450 horsepower.

Which car has 5,000 horsepower? ›

As far as prototypes go, the Devel Sixteen is one of the most extreme examples in existence. The public got its first glimpse of the car´s engine back in 2015. The maddening 5000 horsepower v16 engine which would go on to power one of the most outrageous supercars of all times vowed the audience.

Can a car have 400 horsepower? ›

2020 Infiniti Q60 Red Sport 400: $58,175, 400 HP

Powered by a twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6 engine good for 400 horsepower, the sporty two-door can attain 60 mph from a standstill in just 4.8 seconds. When we first drove the Infiniti Q60 Red Sport 400, we praised its styling and rapidity.

Which car speed is 400? ›

The Koenigsegg Regera – a twin-turbo V8-powered hybrid supercar from a niche manufacturer in Sweden – has unofficially reclaimed the production car record for the fastest time to accelerate from zero to 400km/h and back to a stop again.

How much horsepower is 300 mph? ›

The force required to push an object through the atmosphere increases at the cube of velocity. To translate, a car that needs 200 horsepower to overcome aerodynamic drag at 150 miles per hour, would need 1,600 horsepower, or eight times as much, to reach 300 miles per hour.

How much horsepower is 200 mph? ›

Usually a car will need at least 400 horsepower to get to 200 MPH and a motorcycle needs about 200 horsepower to reach 200 MPH.

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