Am I correct in saying 8v engines have a greater torque up to approx 4000RPM where a 16v performance would really kick in?

If that is correct, then would I be correct in saying a 16v car engine would need great RPM/Torque to counteract an 8v car which had a better power to weight ratio and more torque within the lower band of RPM?

Am I correct in saying 8v engines have a greater torque up to approx 4000RPM where a 16v performance would really kick in?

If that is correct, then would I be correct in saying a 16v car engine would need great RPM/Torque to counteract an 8v car which had a better power to weight ratio and more torque within the lower band of RPM?

Interesting your observations. I would allow myself to disagree. The multi valve engines allow much better flow of intake and exhaust. They also favour the spark plug being at the top of the cylinder, which ford has.

A 16 valve engine allows get higher power easier, but you talk about torque. Well it is also the case. Here is the comparison taken with similar 1.8 engines (this is probably not noticeable on a smaller engine and one can talk about additional horses not torque)

The following figures are torque in ft/lbs

RPM 8v 16v

1500 45 56

2000 68 91

2500 101 130

3000 112 133

3500 112 129

4000 111 132

4500 126 140

5000 129 136

5500 130 134

6000 126 126

6500 112 118

7000 99 108