Bikes in the city are as fast or faster than the average car. (especially e-bikes).
It's been tested quite a bit.
Cars have more horsepower but the constraints of the environment prevent that power from being used.
I literally beat a McLaren down Wilkins one day (yeah, the driver probably didn't even know it was a competition;). Sure, that's essentially a race car, but on a dirt road it could be beat by a donkey cart. Same in the city. Bikes are optimized for city surface streets, cars for highways and rural travel.