Methanol increases power due to the fact that even though it has a lower BTU than gasoline, the engine consumes twice as much of it. Additional factors are that it helps cool the intake mixture, etc. If the engine is purpose built for methanol, the gains are even higher, as the engine can be built with a much higher compression ratio when using methanol.

A higher compression ratio, given that the engine is going to be using a fuel that has enough octane, is all good. It is one of those few things when designing or modifying an engine that has no drawbacks. It increases torque and power all throughout the power range, and makes the engine more efficient.

AV8TOR