I would prefer it if the GT3/RS had the option to do either full leather or full alcantara. Having a mix does not look as good. As others have said, alcantara is fire resistant and lightweight. It makes more sense to have the whole car in alcantara, if that is the purpose. McLaren, Lamborghini, and Ferrari do this well. The track versions of their cars(675LT, Performante, Speciale) have full alcantara with cf interiors. The sport/street(720s, 488, Huracan 610-4) versions of their cars they have full leather. I would still consider the GT3 a sport/street car, comparable to a Huracan, 488 or 720s. The GT3 RS and GT2 RS would look look good in full alcantara/carbon fiber though.

At the end of the day however, it boils down to preference. There is no point to argue too much about this. I wish Porsche gave us the options to spec the interior in full alcantara or full leather.

 

Great thread. Solves nothing haha. If you're OCD (like me) go leather. But really, preference.

 

I've had both wheels - the Alcantara certainly can feel grippier, but picks up hand dirt much faster.

Now I also have a car with Leather steering wheel and Alcantara shifter. The shifter wore out much faster than the wheel, despite less usage.

Alcantara is fairly easy to clean - rub with wet cloth to get dirt off.

Steering wheel looks good at 66K miles

 

Alcantra picks up little spots of material, looks like goose bumps

 

In terms of alcantara vs. leather - I like both! .. so I got both. Here's my upcoming steering wheel with perforated leather on the sides and alcantara on the top and bottom. It comes with a flat bottom too.



I purchased this steering wheel on eBay from 911ava and it should be here the day after Christmas. The wheel originally came with different coloured stitching/12 o'clock stripe, but I had them refinish it. It's thicker than the original wheel, but not smaller like the Sport GT steering wheel. But it has a flat bottom which I like too.

I like the feel of both leather and alcantara so I decided to get both. Leather being on the sides of the wheel where I grip mainly means it'll age nicely, and the alcantara being on the top and bottom just feels nice. I know a mixture of the two it isn't everyone's cup of tea but I can't wait to install it! Should match the yellow seat belts and PCCB very well.

 

For historical purposes the 996 GT3 only came with a leather wheel. Wasn't until the 997 that they started using alcantera. I have had an alcantera wheel in 4 of my cars and I just don't like the feel on my bare hands as much as leather. I spec'd leather this time around. If you clean and condition the leather regularly (every few months) and make sure your hands are clean, the leather doesn't get super shiny. I have a BMW that is 6 years old with 44k miles and wheel still looks great.

 

Thanks for the tip. I looked it up on ebay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Porsche-991...FWD67j&vxp=mtr

Does anyone know if the GT3 RS and GT4 have the same steering wheel diameter/base as the 991.2 gt3?

 

No Alcantara for me. While it does look nice, I hate the way it wears.
On my current car I did full leather & deleted all the Alcantara. (except for the roof liner).
Especially with the wife driving and riding in the car... I have enough of a hard time cleaning all the residue from all of the God damn creams and lotions she puts on her legs and hands off of the leather. I could only imagine what the Alcantara would look like when it soaks in all of these oils.. No thanks!

 

 

Always Alcantara wheel on a Porsche. Get a leather wheel for your Buick or Lexus

 

 

 

 

 

I have the leather steering wheel, I previously had the Alcantara in a GTS and always wore driving gloves. I find the leather steering wheel much more attractive and will be much more durable.