Nate Olson - Contributor
Equus Automotive, formed in 2009 and located in Rochester Hills near Detroit, offers one thing: the Bass 770. It’s ridiculously expensive, but there’s a good reason why.
The Bass 770 aims to capture the brash spirit of the too-powerful cars of the ’60s and ’70s, and it does exactly that with a supercharged 6.2 liter LS9 V8 and all the modern frills you’d expect in a car rolling off the dealer lot. But this car is more than the sum of its parts. At 5,000-plus man hours to create a vehicle from scratch, it’s simply a work of art translated into automotive form. With no production parts besides the motor (which Equus claims as handcrafted), the Bass 770 is a tribute to innovators in the field of automotive design.
The Bass 770’s $534,000 sticker shock is real. But to play the comparison game between it and other production super cars that are nimbler and cheaper is to fundamentally misunderstand the statement that Equus Automotive is making. On the company’s website, the most expensive option you can add is the $100,000 “Bespoke Program” in which a Bass 770 buyer can take part in the design process of every part of their car. At least, the Bass 770 is a work of art. At most, it’s a representation of the individualist American spirit. An extension of the owner’s being handcrafted by a designer. Who cares if you can buy a fully loaded Mustang GT for a tenth of the price? It won’t be your car.
In a time where the most successful business model for selling cars is to create mass appeal through fuel economy, price, and uniformity, the Bass 770 stands head and shoulders above the crowds. And that’s what I love about it. Would I buy it if my bank account were nice enough? I’d certainly hope so.
Source: Equus Automotive
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