German to English Tech/Engineering Automotive / Cars & Trucks types

vs. Basisvariante.

This is a question from an ex colleague by e-mail. No context (she's not a translator), and I'm not a car person. I've seen it before, but have never had any luck in tracking it down. In an electronics context, an explanation I've found in German is "a basic or an almost basic version," which might make sense here.

Any help would be appreciated very much.