Actually, the HP is the rate of work...rate meaning there needs to be a time constant.... like a second or minute.

1 hp = 33,000 lb/ft per minute or 550 ld/ft per second. Meaning that a 1 hp rate or work could pull 550 lb at a rate of 1 foot per second.

Now if you increase the amount of torque per the same amout of time unit, the hp goes up and athe velocity goes up...so 2 hp would move 550lbs at a rate of 2 ft/sec.

In an engine you can get more HP 2 ways. You can increase the amount of torque in at a certain rpm* or you and increase the frequency of "torque" happening per time unit (basicly you spin the fucker faster so that there are more combustion strokes ;torque causing moments).

*NOw how can something that has more torque have more hp at the same rpm but go the same speed? You might ask...well it doesn't you still make the same torque and hp if you are going the same rpm, but your throttle plate is closed at that rpm to so you are restricting the hp level by sutting the air flow off (or in the case of deisel you cut the fuel supply). Now If you have more torque, you can increase you speeds and take advantafe of that extra hp. We do this every day when we drive. Byy opeing the throttle more, we create more toqrue...witch makes more HP, and as a result we can cruise at a higher rate of speed by SHIFTING INTO A HIGHER GEAR.

Gears, that bring use to the next part that people are over looking.The 100hp, 100ft/lb car can win or the 200ft/lb can can win. It matters where the PEAK torque is made and what the gearing is.

I car that has a flat, strong torque band and a short rpm range (lets say a redline of 5K). If it makes say the 200 lb/ft of torque but only 100hp (the moath won;t add up, I'm just dumbing it down here)... it can tranfer that torque in to hp by overdriving the input shaft on the transmission.

Now a low torque situation that make peak torque at, lets say, 7K can accel just as fast as the low reving high torque car, but it uses the opposite of over drive to make up for torque...this is a called mechanical advantage. You can diminstrate this by using a simple lever. You have a long handle side and a short 'work' side. You can move the handleside really fast... have high hp, but little torque, but the 'work' side has a high torque number and a lower hp number.

It all comes back to the amount of work per distance... then low torque side moves fast adn covers a long distance, but uses less force, but the high torque side as a low HP and umber because it travel less distance....the RATE has changed.

Now once yo have a certian power lever, you can't really go over that. You put high HP numbers and low torque into one side of the level, you get and equal amount of power out of the other side. But instead you get a high toque and low HP... but its still that same amount of rate of engergy.... Since HP is funtion of torque and a time ( or velocity), the to side equall each other.
Ok , I;m finding it hard to describe the last part, so I will try latter.