The What-If Car That Answers to No One
Just when you thought American muscle couldn’t get any cooler, Detroit-based Equus Automotive came along and produced the retro-styled and quite luxurious Equus Bass 770 that has taken old world muscle to new world heights. Check it out here.
American Muscle Melting Pot
What would you get if you tossed a 1967 Fold Shelby GT500, a 1971 Dodge Challenger, and a 2013 Chevy Camaro into a great big pot and you mixed it all up? You would get none other than the Equus Bass 770, a perfect mashup of American muscle cars that we have grown to love and revere from a bygone era of high-performance auto manufacturing. It took Equus Automotive six years to build this car and they only made twenty of them. At first glance, it looks like a Mustang fastback, but a longer look around the car reveals influences from Camaro (rear fascia), GTO (divided grille), the Challenger (hooded from fascia), and even the Camaro (headlights).
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It looks old, but really it's new
Despite the overall amalgam of several muscle cars, the Equus Bass borrows very few parts from its muscle-bound predecessors. Yes, you will find new-age Camaro headlights and smaller switchgear, some displays, and HVAC system from the GM parts bin, but a lot of the elements like the window glass are completely bespoke. Most of the billet and laser-cut aluminum parts such as the gauge clusters, switches, and control knobs, and even some of the door handles look vintage even though they are not.
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Keeping the weight off
The chassis and body are aluminum with carbon fiber internal reinforcing panels. The combination of strong, lightweight materials keeps body flex to a minimum and, crucially, the weight down on this 3,640-pound muscle car. The Equus Bass 770 rolls on big 255/40 ZR19 tires up front and 285/40 ZR19’s on the back and deceleration comes via Brembo brake calipers and carbon ceramic discs. The rears are actually the same ones used in the Enzo.
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The big ass engine that could
The same big-ass LS9 6.2L V8 from the Corvette is in the Bass, making a very robust 640 hp and 605 lb.ft of torque that will take you to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds, topping out at 200 mph. All of this power is delivered to the rear wheels via a 6-speed rear-mounted manual transmission that makes the car rear-wheel drive. The engine is set far enough back in the chassis to be a front-mid-engine, and the weight is even further distributed by the rear-mounted transaxle that manages to create a warm, substantial hump in between the very cramped rear seats, and as a result, precludes the use of LATCH baby seat systems in the back.
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Vintage modern style
While the exterior is predominantly influenced by Ford design, the interior smacks of GM. Unlike muscle cars of old, the Bass 770 is generously equipped with safety features, such as airbags, and creature comforts that include a leather interior with the ceiling in Alcantara, air-conditioning, GPS, radio with CD and DVD capability, USB port, tire pressure monitoring system and cruise control. Interestingly, the LED-matrix screen is right out of a U-Haul GMC truck, and the dash is upholstered rather than made of molded plastics.
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The Rich Man's Mustang
American muscle cars were meant to offer low-income buyers an opportunity to bring home some serious power, but this car was not meant for those looking for an affordable option. The low volume manufacturing of twenty original cars means that the price is high. In fact, if you want to build one, you’ll have to pony up $253,000, and if you want optional extras you are looking at a price tag of $290,000. With so few of them out there, if you are lucky enough to own one, it just may have doubled in value by now. But if you don’t want to sell it, you could always drive it. Heads will certainly turn and no one will be sure what they just saw.
To see the Bass in action just click here.
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