Leather Interior Question
04-23-2010, 06:56 PM
#16
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Porsche reserves about 5-10% of their best supplied leather to use for their natural leather interiors. They are vat dyed thoroughly and treated in such a way that they have an entirely different feel to them than the majority of leather interiors. The painted on leathers are sanded, embossed (to 'look' more like leather is 'supposed' to look like) and finally painted upon to get that color that winds up on the Porsche palette. Years ago, black leather was a natural leather. It was one of the few leathers that was handled that way. But things continue to change at Porsche.
Have you seen the embossed leather on the later models? It started somewhere around '07 or '08, and now all of the low-option 9x7s have a pebble-grain mess that looks like it came out of my Passat Wagon. The *** in my '05 997 are black leather, but at least it's quality hide that will last a long time with proper care. Hopefully it'll look half as good as the gorgeous hides in your car with some years' time.
Sometime soon, I can see the carmakers using "bonded leather" (scrap, glue, and vinyl paint) for their hides, just like the cheap furniture you can buy at Costco. I guess it's true that they never make it like they used to.
04-23-2010, 08:35 PM
#17
Drifting
I think most of the posts here don't address the OP's original question. I don't think he was asking about the difference between natural leather and the other leathers.
Regarding his question, it is extremely unusual to see a car without the "full leather" option (ie, no stitching along dash, tops of doors, etc.) to have the panels adjacent to the center stack with stitching. Every car I have seen with stitching there also has it along the dash, doors etc. as part of the "full leather" optioin. It is possible that cars that only have the stitching on those centerstack side panels had the panels replaced at some point with leather panels.
When looking for cars to purchase in the past, I viewed hundreds of ads, and I typically had to look at the front edge of those side panels to verify if the car had "full leather", since many sellers (including dealers) say "full leather interior" without knowing what it means in Porsche lingo. Often, in the typically poor photos many post on Autotrader, the stitching on the front of those side panels is the easiest way to confirm if it is full leather or not. I don't ever remember seeing a car with leather side panels and not the rest of the full leather surfaces that come with that option. The fact that the OP has seen more than one car with this situation is extremely unusual in my experience.
Regarding his question, it is extremely unusual to see a car without the "full leather" option (ie, no stitching along dash, tops of doors, etc.) to have the panels adjacent to the center stack with stitching. Every car I have seen with stitching there also has it along the dash, doors etc. as part of the "full leather" optioin. It is possible that cars that only have the stitching on those centerstack side panels had the panels replaced at some point with leather panels.
When looking for cars to purchase in the past, I viewed hundreds of ads, and I typically had to look at the front edge of those side panels to verify if the car had "full leather", since many sellers (including dealers) say "full leather interior" without knowing what it means in Porsche lingo. Often, in the typically poor photos many post on Autotrader, the stitching on the front of those side panels is the easiest way to confirm if it is full leather or not. I don't ever remember seeing a car with leather side panels and not the rest of the full leather surfaces that come with that option. The fact that the OP has seen more than one car with this situation is extremely unusual in my experience.
04-24-2010, 12:14 AM
#18
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Ken,
You are correct, but only to a point, about the stitched side panels on the upper center console.
It is true that they were/are an indicator of full leather in the 997.1 cars. However, that is not the case in the 997.2 cars. I saw a 2009 that did not have Full Leather, but did have the stitched side panels on the upper center console. While that is part of the "Full Leather" option, as asomeone else mentioned earlier, the stitched side panels are now available as a separate option without having "Full Leather."
You are correct, but only to a point, about the stitched side panels on the upper center console.
It is true that they were/are an indicator of full leather in the 997.1 cars. However, that is not the case in the 997.2 cars. I saw a 2009 that did not have Full Leather, but did have the stitched side panels on the upper center console. While that is part of the "Full Leather" option, as asomeone else mentioned earlier, the stitched side panels are now available as a separate option without having "Full Leather."
04-24-2010, 12:21 AM
#19
Drifting
Ken,
You are correct, but only to a point, about the stitched side panels on the upper center console. It is true that they were/are an indicator of full leather in the 997.1 cars. However, that is not the case in the 997.2 cars. I saw a 2009 that did not have Full Leather, but did have the stitched side panels om the upper center console. While that is part id the "Full Leather option, the stitched side panels are now available as a separate option without "Full Leather."
You are correct, but only to a point, about the stitched side panels on the upper center console. It is true that they were/are an indicator of full leather in the 997.1 cars. However, that is not the case in the 997.2 cars. I saw a 2009 that did not have Full Leather, but did have the stitched side panels om the upper center console. While that is part id the "Full Leather option, the stitched side panels are now available as a separate option without "Full Leather."
04-24-2010, 04:29 PM
#20
deviated
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OP here - thanks to gota911 - it appears that this is what i'm finding. probably appearing in adds for 997.2's. this all seems a bit clearer now.
