Tony Ryan, thats why i was so clear about stipulating the importance of gearing.

a car with half the torque @ twice the rpm and half the gearing will accelerate at the same rate basically.

so more bhp is always going to win IF you can gear the car to take advantage of it, as more BHP without more torque means it MUST be revving higher, so you then need to gear it lower for any given speed to take advantage of the extra rpm, and that lower gearing is a torque multiplier on the way to the wheels.

how can anything other than the amount of torque at the wheels possibly be relevant as its the turning force applied to the car which ultimately accelerates the car.