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Okay, first of all, very few engines get 120bhp/liter. A handleful of ITRs, the S2000... all of these engines do it by virtue of 11:1 or higher compression, extremely oversquare shortblock, and very high engine speeds. The engine timing is set up to take advantage of this setup, for high rpm power. This means the engine makes lots of hp for it's displacement, but is somewhat lacking on the bottom end. Now someone will chime in now and say "VTEC!", and it is a great help, but it still doesn't quite make up for the difference.
With a Viper, it's running 9.6:1 compression, a slightly oversquare bore, and low engine speeds. The engine is tuned for torque, and has more than you need at any engine speed. If you were to raise the compression to 11:1 like an ITR, and run the engine at 8000rpm, you'd see a lot more hp, but the tradeoff would be the torque.
So compare hp numbers is pretty meaningless unless you know how both engines are built. All said, a 500hp Viper engine will pull a 4.0 liter 500hp S2000 engine, on the drag strip.
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