this is an excellent essay on the relationship between hp, tq and gearing, and why less tq at a higher RPM is almost always able to do more work in a given period of time than gobs of tq at a lower rpm. The key is the definition of tq, which is "work" and HP, which is "work over time".

http://mclements.net/mrc-PowerTorque.html

An excerpt:

"First, let's talk about torque and gearing. Given the number of people I've met in car and motorcycle racing, I'd say it is a common belief that torque is the single most important factor determining the acceleration of a car. And in fact, twisting force -- torque -- really does determine the acceleration of the car. But it is torque at the wheel of the car that matters, and this is where the confusion starts. You can get lots of torque at the wheel of the car without having much torque at the crankshaft of the engine (think motorcycle). And conversely, you can have lots of torque at the crankshaft yet still fail to get much at the wheel (think diesel)."

more:

"In a car, the most fundamental gear ratio we are concerned with is the total ratio between the speed of the crankshaft and that of the wheel. If the crankshaft is spinning R times as fast as the wheel, the torque at the wheel is R times that at the crank. So if you can spin the crankshaft fast enough, you can get lots of torque at the wheel of the car, even if you don’t have much at the crankshaft.

Armed with this knowledge, let’s take an example. Engine A generates a maximum torque of 100 ft.-lbs. at 3,000 RPM. Engine B also generates a maximum torque of 100 ft.-lbs., but it happens at 6,000 RPM. Which engine would you put in your race car?

Many people would take engine A, reasoning that its torque is more "accessible" since it doesn't have to rev as high. However, engine B is far better. It revs twice as high as A but gets the same torque. So engine B can use gear ratios that are twice as short without sacrificing speed. Since the wheel torque is equal to crankshaft torque multiplied by the gear ratio, engine B can produce twice as much torque at the wheel of the car. Yes, that means twice the acceleration."

That means a car with 50ft lbs at 6K rpm would have equal acceleration to engine A given the same gearing. So you see how a car with an unimpressive peak tq figure can haul *** if the tq peak is located high enough in the RPM range.