There's a Lot More to Going Fast Than the Horsepower Number

I think every physics student would know that. Still, this article on this particular vehicle called the "Atom" tries to illustrate why the vehicle's mass, and not just the "horsepower", certainly dictates how fast a vehicle can go and how quickly it can reach very high speeds.

The details of the physics lesson is that 200 horsepower doesn't sound like much, but when the car weighs less than 500 kilograms? Step up to the supercharged model like the one you see here and you get 300 horsepower, enough to launch the Atom to 100 km-h in three seconds.

But still, did anyone else caught the unintended pun early in the article? I'm guessing that even the writer didn't notice it.

That seems odd as you sit so low in the Atom, and you're so exposed to the elements with wind rushing up your legs through the sides of the car that it feels as though you're travelling twice as fast as you actually are.

Do you see it? Atom.... exposed to the elements.... Oh, never mind!

:)

Zz.