Re: horsepower to cv
52 kw or 68 cv ?
Metric horsepower
Metric horsepower began in Germany in the 19th century and became popular across Europe and Asia. The various units used to indicate this definition (PS, CV, hk, pk, and ch) all translate to horse power in English, so it is common to see these values referred to as horsepower or hp in the press releases or media coverage of the German, French, Italian, and Japanese automobile companies. British manufacturers often intermix metric horsepower and mechanical horsepower depending on the origin of the engine in question. Sometimes the metric horsepower rating of an engine is conservative enough so that the same figure can be used for both 80/1269/EEC with metric hp and SAE J1349 with imperial hp.
Metric horsepower, as a rule, is defined as 0.73549875 kW, or roughly 98.6% of mechanical horsepower. This was a minor issue in the days when measurement systems varied widely and engines produced less power, but has become a major sticking point today. Exotic cars from Europe like the McLaren F1 and Bugatti Veyron are often quoted using the wrong definition, and their power output is sometimes even converted twice because of confusion over whether the original horsepower number was metric or mechanical.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horsepower#CV_and_cv
