From smartphones to sneakers, we’ve largely come to expect that what we can buy on one side of the Atlantic is, more or less, the same as what our cousins are picking up on the other side of the sea.
And when it comes to cars, that’s often the case. Minor details aside, North America’s Porsche Cayman is pretty much identical to the Cayman available in Europe. The same applies to the Tesla Model 3 as well as most cars sold across both continents.
Some, but not all. Because there’s been a power war raging for more than five decades, often driven by legislation changes that have forced one market to neuter its cars while those available elsewhere can roar louder and kick harder.
5 Times More Horsepower War Won by the U.S.
BMW Z4 M40i M29
The U.S. car lovers were served vehicles with lower power outputs from the late 1960s to the early 1990s. They were equipped with European smog gear, which was not required here. The tables changed in 2018, when European cars came with gasoline particulate filter that reduced noise and power, which meant American cars sounding better and going harder.
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While an American-spec BMW Z4 M40i’s turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six makes 382 hp, the European market Z4 can’t muster more than 335, and the 2022 Audi RS3 develops 7 hp more in U.S. trim.
Honda CR-V
Honda hasn’t been averse to dropping bigger motors into U.S-market cars over the years. On the 2004 model year, S2000 was upgraded from the F20C 2.0-liter motor that continued in Europe to a F22C 2.2-liter. Although it gained 7 lb-ft of torque, the 237 hp power output was virtually unchanged from its predecessor 2.0 in America. It is therefore no stronger than the Euro-cars.
The CR-V was an American Honda that stood out in the period. It was powered by a K20 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that produced 148 horsepower. However, the CR-V was rated at 160 horsepower.
Merkur XR4ti
Detroit’s Merkur XR4ti represents a rare instance of a small engine being fitted to a version of a vehicle that is also made in Europe. While the Sierra XR4i was originally built with a naturally engineered 2.8 V6, the Merkur XR4ti borrowed the turbocharged 2.3-liter inline four from Mustang or T-bird.
The 2.3 produced 145 horsepower when it was paired with an automatic transmission. This is 3 HP less than the European Sierra. It was able to make a strong 175 horsepower when paired with a 5-speed manual, which allowed it a bit more boost and a faster rear axle ratio.
Toyota MR2
Even with the benefit of an extra 200 cc, the 130 hp naturally aspirated second-generation MR2 couldn’t offset the emasculating effects of its emissions gear to match the 138 hp made by the 2.0-liter base model in Europe. And America didn’t get any kind of equivalent to the 158 hp European-market MR2 GT.
However, the U.S. received something even more. The 200 hp MR2 Turbo could sprint to 60 mph in 6.1 seconds, and Europeans couldn’t have one, at least not officially (many grey imports were shipped in from Japan, where the turbocharged GT-S made 218 hp).
Land Rover Defender V8
A Hemi Charger original’s fuel consumption and availability of turbo diesels made it difficult for anyone to order a European Defender fitted with a carb fed 3.5-liter V8. Let’s face it, 13 mpg (18.0 lt/100 km) and 13 seconds to 60 mph (96 km/h) isn’t that appealing.
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The American experience was better. They got a 180-hp fuel-injected, 3.9-liter V8 from Range Rover that began in 1993.
Europe won the Horsepower War 5 times
What is Unleaded Fuel? What’s That?
Detroit decreased compression ratios for unleaded fuel and added catalytic convertors beginning in 1975. But those things didn’t really happen until 1992 in Europe.
Whether you’re looking at a Ferrari 308 (252 hp UK; 237 hp U.S.) or a little Fiat X1/9 (74 hp UK, 61 hp U.S.), almost every European car made more power on its home soil until the 1990s.
Mercedes 560 SL
To make back some horses that were lost due to clean air, carmakers sometimes tried to put larger engines in their cars. R107’s fastest Mercedes roadster in Europe was the 500 SL. The 5.0-liter V8 engine produced 237 horsepower. American buyers received a 560SL instead.
It really did have a 5.6-liter V8, like the badge promised, but it could only summon 227 hp, and couldn’t even match the little guy for torque despite the extra swept volume.
Porsche 911 Carrera
U.S. emissions and safety rules meant some manufacturers didn’t even bother trying to certify their cars. American icons, such as the Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer or early Lamborghini Countach, were never made officially.
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The European-spec Porsche 911 Carrera was not available in the middle of the 1970s. But that didn’t stop Porsche trying to pass off a Carrera-stickered 167 hp 911 S as the same car sold in Europe with 40 hp more, or pulling a similar trick with the 964 RS America in 1993.
BMW E36 M3
Porsche tried to convince everybody that the RS was worth the letters. BMW attempted the same with the North American M3.
European cars received the 282-hp straight-six 3.0-liter S50 straight-6 with separate throttle bodies. The U.S. version came with an easier 240-hp version with just one throttle body. And that gulf only grew when European Evolution models appeared in 1996 sporting a 312 hp 3.2 six, while the U.S. versions’ S50B32 “upgrade” still only produced 240 hp.
