eli5: Can horsepower be added to each other or is there overlap? Example: If Ferrari says that an electric motor on each front wheel can produce 100hp each, and the combustion engine produces 750hp. Is it actually 950hp exactly? Or is there overlap or less hp etc?

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Answer 1

torque can be additive. horsepower might not be unless it’s on a separate axle.

in the case of most hybrid drivetrains, just because a motor can put down 200hp and the engine puts down 250 doesn’t mean the car has 450hp.

you’d have to plot the torque curves and add them up, then calculate the resulting horsepower. or you could measure output directly on a chassis dyno.

the problem with a measurement on a chassis dyno is that the output is lower than at the engine. and bigger numbers make for better bragging rights. which is why manufacturers will claim separate numbers for gas engine and electric motor for bigger overall numbers.