Lies De Mol and Bart Lenaerts test drive the EQUUS BASS770 in downtown Detroit.

1. RS V
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2. VP*
*RSVP
is
French
for
‘Please
reply’
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3. ‘No. It’s not a Mustang.’ Michael Oualid is not one to shout. But he sighs a lot when he
has to explain for the umpteenth time that the Equus Bass 770 is neither a replica nor
a kit-car, and certainly not a continuing series from a former icon. This baby is totally
new. And it has a fresh, seriously developed platform with ultramodern technology. A
bit like a Wiesmann, yet totally different. Simply put, this device is as forthright as it
gets. It’s just so frustrating Oualid constantly has to explain this to everybody.
IF IT LOOKS LIKE A MUSTANG,
SOUNDS LIKE A MUSTANG
AND DRIVES LIKE A MUSTANG,
IT PROBABLY IS A MUSTANG.
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4. It’s a fastback. It has rear-wheel drive, a man-
ual gearbox and a mammoth V8 under its
billiard table-big bonnet. It’s from Detroit and
it has as much in common with Ford as nice
people do with good old Henry the First.
Even if the philosophy behind this Bass 770
is reminiscent of Steve McQueen’s Bullitt
Ford Mustang, most of its hardware comes
straight from a Corvette ZR1. But connois-
seurs probably already got the hint from the
grille. After all, 770 is the exact volume in
cubic centimetres of one Corvette cylinder.
It’s almost unreal. Right when sunshiny California de-
veloped into the Valhalla for freshmen going smart on
electric or autonomous vehicles, the Equus-newbies
considered Detroit as the only possible birthplace for
their re-embodiment of the good old-fashioned Amer-
ican muscle car. Even more bizarrely, the founders are
French. Like croissants.
These GM underpinnings found their way to the Equus
headquarters more or less in tandem with workshop
manager Chuck Cox, a dude as American as a Whop-
per, an engineer as smart as James Bond’s Q. Chuck
has been on GM’s payroll since forever, mainly having
built a variety of concept cars, one-offs and racecars.
And he still has a direct line to the General. ‘GM found
it highly amusing to tease Ford a little,’ he recalls, ‘so
they happily provided us with the Corvette’s 6.2-litre
supercharged V8, its six-speed manual Tremec gear-
box, smart magnetic ride suspension, super-sized
carbon-ceramic brake discs – which also serve in the
Ferrari FXX – and other highly sophisticated stuff. We
even got to play around on their test track. In the end,
the development took the better part of six years, as
we neatly straddled the line between the craftsman-
ship of a small production run and the perfectionist
mind of a gigantic manufacturer.’
Why not, in fact? French smooth-talkers have
known how to misbehave since Louis Quatorze.
And they have understood passion since the
invention of the kiss.
The true leader of the gang prefers a role
behind the scenes for now. His story is so
mind-boggling, his CV so impressive, he fears
he’ll steal all the attention, while the car should
be the star. So he chose his compatriot Michael
Oualid as the face – and the big mouth – of this
French connection.
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‘Why Detroit? Because it’s the world’s most exciting
place,’ Oualid enthuses. ‘The entire area is booming, and
downtown is reviving at rapid pace. The press loves to
focus on the few spots where graffiti, concrete decay and
anarchy reign. It’s not all doom and gloom, though. In the
outskirts, it’s business as usual.’ Oualid is speaking from
his Rochester-based office, somewhere in the shadow
of the Chrysler-battleship and slap bang in the buttery
dough of the wealthy donut around Motor City. ‘The big
three are doing great again. And so are their suppliers.
They all warmly welcomed us. GM, Chrysler and Ford just
adore small newcomers in their field. It keeps them sharp.
Car passion rules here. Which is hardly the case in Europe.
The positive climate towards automobiles considerably
eases homologation and safety procedures. After having
gone through such a harsh period, Detroit now offers the
flexibility of an emerging city and the trump cards of a
genuine car metropolis: engineering quality, experience,
tooling and expertise. Next to the big three of American
car manufacturing, this area also hosts countless small
breweries, bicycle or watch ateliers and many other local
initiatives. It’s unique.’
They’re an intriguing pair, this man and his automobile.
And both are as easy-going as they are complex. Oualid
looks like Serge Gainsbourg with a tie and with something
approaching good manners. The Bass 770 appears to be
Jake LaMotta on a Friday evening. Oualid is a man of pro-
digious theories, verging on verbose. The Bass 770 is as
cool as a cat riding a dog with sunglasses, down to earth
like a smack in the face and the ideal set of wheels to pick
up Jane Birkin.
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7. While the car has seemingly come from nowhere, Oualid has roots in the European
car industry. When animals still talked and VW diesels were believed to be clean, he
got paid to park das Auto in a hip corner: ‘It were wild days,’ he chuckles. ‘Nothing
was holy. It was fun as long as it lasted.’ He later got involved in Mindset, the Swiss
electric car which seemed to break new ground before it drowned in a sea of messy
finances. Finally, he traded in Paris and the tantalising Free Car Project for this sorely
tried city, to get the archaic Equus on the road. Basically, he’s a marketing hater who
markets a car which requires anything but.
Even if the Equus looks as vintage as Versailles, its smokin’
body is as fresh as a Gillardeau oyster. It’s not a rebodied
Corvette and all body parts are sparkling new from tip to
toe. ‘We’re not Singer or Eagle,’ says Oualid about the spe-
cialists who stuff old 911s or E-Types with modern tech-
nology. Not one square centimetre of bodywork has been
recuperated from other cars in general or Mustangs in
particular. ‘The Bass 770 is much wider, way longer and
it’s constructed totally out of aluminium. Not from ordi-
nary steel like the Mustang,’ smiles Oualid.
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8. Although the car is completely hand-built, its place of manufacture is
not a sweatshop a l’italienne, with guys hammering the soul out of their
dead-tired bodies. These fellas had real moulds made to press the light
metal sheets millimetre-precise into the desired desirable shapes. The
aluminium floorpan is purpose-developed, as are the integrated steel
roll cage and the carbon-fibre inner panels. After such a vast invest-
ment, ambitions have to be sky-high: ‘Initially, we’re hoping to get ten
cars on the road. But once at cruising speed, we’re aiming at 100 cars
annually. As soon as we can offer a smaller engine, this number could
even increase,’ says Oualid.
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PLAYING HARD TO GET
IS THE FIRST STEP.
NEVER BE TOO NEEDY.
As a new car, it has to adhere to all the rules: emissions,
safety, reliability and other boring, lawyer-ish stuff. The
concept has already survived a virtual crash test, and in
the near future they’ll smash a tangible one against the
concrete. ‘All this nagging about impossible safety and
emission regulations is pretty much bullshit. It’s not as
hard as the others pretend. We’re totally opposing this
attitude. Why do the big manufacturers compulsively
communicate on the complexity of car development? It
shouldn’t be like that. In fact, it’s fairly straightforward.’
It’s another mindset, really.
‘How cool would life be if everything was simple? So we try to be
very modest. Which isn’t easy for French people,’ he mocks.
One aspect remains infuriatingly complex, though: why is it so
goddamn difficult to be cool? Playing hard to get is the first step.
Never be too needy. So Top Gear got a resounding ‘no’ when they
requested a drive. Equus is too WAFT-y for grizzlies.
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9. The Bass 770 is as close to a Mustang as a duck to a chicken. Despite
its mighty appearance, the lines are as straightforward as a book shelf,
while the proportions are so different to those of a Mustang, they
come close to perfection. Many details breathe a different atmosphere
as well. The squinting front LEDs combine tastefully with the almost
corny Eleanor-like round centre lamps, whereas the avant-garde LEDs
on the back give a naughty wink to swanky concept cars. It’s a pret-
ty big monster, yet the surfaces are extremely pure, apart from a
manly power bulge and an ultra-fine central spine which vanishes
smoothly into oblivion. A few GM parts aside, the interior is special-
ly designed, too. It’s modern without alienating. It’s nostalgic without
being old-fashioned. It’s comfortable, but not soporific. It’s simple. Not
lean. Most of all, it’s very honest: real aluminium is used for toggles
and switches. And genuine carbon fibre keeps it together. It’s hidden,
however, beneath smooth leather and even smoother Alcantara. Na-
ked carbon would be as cheesy in this ambience as a happy ending
after a sensual tango.
‘It’s not a Mustang,’ asserts Oualid. Again. ‘It’s the ultimate reincar-
nation of the ultimate fastbacks from the hot 70s.’ Equus has gone
quite a long way to capture this spirit perfectly. And then some light-
years further. First, they organised a cavalcade through India with
the impressive Mustang collection of the anonymous French owner.
Afterwards, they bought just about every 60s and 70s fastback with
the slightest touch of sexiness, to help stimulate the creative juices
of designer Tom Tjaarda. Most of these ponies are still parked in the
factory today, including a one-off Mustang for Patrick Dempsey – the
21st-century Steve McQueen – a Plymouth Valliant Barracuda and
a Rambler Marlin Fastback. Having designed half of the world’s car
park in an earlier life, Tjaarda translated all these fastback impulses
into a first proposal. This EQ 500 was as orange as the Dutch soccer
team and as aggressive as Mike Tyson on cocaine. This eventually
led, much later, to the bold yet perfectly proportioned Bass 770. ‘For
sure it hints to a Mustang. That’s what happens when you look for the
ultimate American sportscar,’ says Oualid.
It’s fast. Seriously fast. And it has enough torque to transmute asphalt
into a pleated skirt. 640bhp, 820 Nm. That should say it all. But Equus
doesn’t sell performance. Even if it seems further outside the law
than Billy the Kid, the Bass 770 is not only enjoyable at the red side
of speed limits. Its hammering percussion, tantalising riff and relaxed
poise guarantee gargantuan portions of fun at low speeds as well. It’s
also less pointy than a Corvette and more balanced, which helps to
stay cool in stressful times, despite the thundering cavalry under your
designer shoes.
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10. ITS NÜRBURGRING LAP TIME IS
LESS RELEVANT THAN A NUN’S BRA SIZE.
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12. It’s not about numbers; its Nürburgring lap time is less relevant
than a nun’s bra size, and there are no racing plans: ‘The cool-
ness we’re looking for can’t be found on a track,’ says Oualid. As
a genuine Parisian, he knows the drill: ‘It’s an ultra-fine balance
which can’t be captured in fact files or Excel spreadsheets. It’s
pure gut. It has to be absolutely spot-on, though. Almost cool
is not cool enough. On the contrary. One millimetre off is too
much. It has to be luxurious, but nowhere near over the top.’
Even the paint job was food for meticulous thought. ‘We felt
no need to emphasise its sporty character. The numbers speak
for themselves. A nostalgic touch wasn’t required either. People
see what they see. We only have to help potential customers to
understand our price setting,’ explains Oualid on why the first
Bass 770 wears a very aristocratic night-blue jacket.
Two-hundred and fifty-thousand dollars is serious money. Cer-
tainly for a vehicle which doesn’t bring any obvious newness to
the game. Or does it? ‘In fact,’ Oualid adds, ‘we’re mainly here
to introduce a revolutionary system to build cars: flexible yet
professional. This project is an open door. A more luxurious
interior? Different colours? Extra bling-bling? We can handle
everything. No convertibles, however. The roll cage is essential.
We can do a Camaro as well. But hopefully nobody will ever ask
that question. It would park us in the corner of replicas – exactly
where we don’t want to be.’
A visionary designer himself, Oualid doesn’t consider this nos-
talgic, nigh-on conventional big yeller a step back. To him, the
Equus sets new standards by emphasising the indestructible
values of the good old days of muscle cars. Nowadays all sports-
cars, supercars and hypercars are as deathly fast as they are
lethally boring. Not this boy. It’s comforting without being
goody-goody. It’s efficient as pure lust. Almost animal-like, if it
weren’t so well dressed.
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13. No matter how frank and linear the theory, many questions remain unanswered.
WHY BUY THIS BULLY?
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?
IN FACT, IT’S AN OPEN INVITATION...
To wear sneakers at a gala.
To wear a tux on Monday afternoon.
To wear sneakers all the time.
To drive 2,000 miles only to spend the night in Thermopolis, Wyoming.
To buy poetry, then throw it away unread.
To sell your stock.
To roll the windows down.
To not drift, wherever you can.
To get your kicks far outside Route 66.
To grow more hair.
To pick up an LA woman.
To become way older than 27.
To neglect most invitations.
To keep your hands, just for once, not in the ideal ‘ten-to-two’ position.
To get a condo in Detroit.
To skip Pebble Beach.
To not bother about what others think.
To live only once.
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