mrzoop

Hey everyone, I'm fairly new at this and am doing research on my first Porsche. I've been noticing what I consider an oddity on leather vs. full leather and would like some clarification. I'm a visual guy and fotos of prospective purchases are the first things that get my attention. I have been noticing a few cars lately that do not have full leather. Meaning, they don't have stitching on the dash or tops of door panels. But they DO have stitching on either side of the center dash control panel (nav, audio, climate). I'm looking at 06-09 models and can't quite figure out if this is an error or a model year change or some other issue. Can someone enlighten me? Thx...

THPorsche

Go to Porsche's website and click "build your Porsche". Once you get to the interior option, you would find your answer there.

GHills

Hopefully one of the experts will chime in shortly but in the interim.....Stitching on either side of the nav/radio is a sign of "full" leather interior. That means most of the dash, some of the doors etc. This doesnt vary for the years you're looking at.

There's at least 100 more optional pieces you can specify to get closer to everything covered in leather, some of the more commonly spec'ed pieces include center console, rear seatbacks (on sport seats), sun visors, door finishers......almost endless. The online configurator will list a lot of these options, not all, and it can be tough to figure out what is covered, especially since there is overlap between some options. There is also a pdf model year configurator available. One place to get these is the other renn site. These guides show a couple interior diagrams with all the discrete parts labelled. From this you can sort of figure out what's what. Or find an expert......

LlBr

My two cents FWIW? Visually (as opposed to sweating on it)? It's almost a non issue. The leather Porsche uses is "painted," so it's lost some of it's texture. The modern vinyl(?) they use gives an extremely good illusion of real "painted" leather. I haven't tried it specifically myself but I'm pretty sure its very difficult to sit in the car and point out the fake vs.the real leather; will try to do it next time I get in my car.

BostonDuce

No stitching on dash top=leather seats only. Though the OP may have spec'd some of the many individual leather pieces as well as packages.

The leather option for the center stack is bits and pieces stuck on what is normally the soft touch paint on the switch gear. I believe it is a $2K+ option.

Without it making your search more difficult, try to find an example with "Natural Leather". The quality of the standard Porsche leather has gone way down in the last few years.

BD

number9ine

Virtually ALL automotive leather is painted (semi-aniline) for UV and wear protection. Unfortunately, Porsche has regressed to embossed leather seating on their latest models, which looks like crap but wears well. The difference between the semi-aniline and embossed is that the latter has a skin grain embossed in the finish, plus a heavier protective paint coat. The leather grade underneath the finish is probably a notch below what's used on the full leather option seats. And while we're at it let's define the natural leather options--natural leather is semi-aniline in the Porsches just like the regular leather, but it uses dyes under the finish coat which allow for an uneven pigmentation for an old-school dyed leather look. But it's just a look.

Full leather models have the door/quarter cards, dashboard, kneebars, center console, seats and seatbacks in leather. There are probably hundreds of extra leather options on top of or instead of this, including a-pillar, console, doorsill oddments tray (!), airbag cover, sun visors, you name it. The center console leather option can be ordered separately from full leather, so it's possible (but rare) to find a 997 with french stitching on the console and not on the dash top.

LlBr

Thanks for the update #9.

Edgy01

There is some truth to some of these comments and then some speculation.

First off, what is available in leather varies a bit from model year to model year. The Porsche folks have even packaged some of them together differently from year to year.

The natural leathers are the best wearing, and presently include brown, Carrera Red, Gray, and there is even a different natural Cocoa. Cocoa is still available in the painted on version, but can be had in the natural. I believe they call that version "special leather."

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.

Go down to your local dealership and ask to touch their leather samples. Ask to see their latest data sheets that show what is supposed to be leather, and what is supposed to be covered with that slush finish.

I have seen several 997 Carreras that have come up on the used market that have terrible looking interiors--because that slushy finish doesn't hold up. The Porsche vinyl is fairly good stuff and has been for quite a long time. It looks more like leather is supposed to look like, and does a good job. It holds up nearly as well as real leather.

I encourage anyone who is going to hold onto a Carrera longer than some short term lease to actually experience owning a Porsche with leather in it. My first two Porsches had no leather whatsoever in them. Zero. Well, almost. The little leather strap that held the rear seats upright in the coupes was there--but that was it. Everything else was vinyl.

If you get to enjoy the leather interiors of today you will find a substantial difference in the 'Porsche Experience.' My third Porsche was loaded with leather, but it was the painted on stuff. But it was worlds better than vinyl. It convinced me that my next Porsche (this one) was going to have quite a bit of leather.

Porsche has revised much of their leathers and leather processes over time due to government regulation and lessons learned in applying leather to automotive interiors. For example, they had terrible results with leather on the dashboards, but seem to have solved that problem on the current cars. Also, years ago the vinyl they used on their dashboards outgassed over time and would always produce a film on the inside of your windscreens that you would have to address periodically. I can't say whether that remains an issue today because I opted for the leather dash.

If you want to get really exotic with contrasting thread on your leather interior think about the long term issues like what happens when stuff gets into the crevices of the leather, and how leather treatments and cleaners can affect that thread. It will not make the thread lighter. If you opt for a lighter thread contrasted with a darker leather the thread will get darker with contaminants in time.




As with everything from Porsche, you have to pay a lot to experience this stuff. It's quite easy to drop $10-15,000 on added leather pieces to these cars. If you're a track junkie then don't even bother. But if you want to enjoy a more comfortable ride with positive tactile feedback, then look into the leather options.

JMaples

Use the 3D version of the "Build Your Porsche" application on the porscheusa.com website. This will give you a much better idea of the effect of certain options than the 2D version.

hockeyguy

I think it depends on the color.
For example, I sat back to back in a car with black standard leather, then into one with black full leather.
For black anyway, I don't think the full leather was worth the cost. It still doesn't have much luxury or suppleness to it at all (unlike an Audi, for example). So why bother. I even preferred the standard black, the other fell short of luxury and almost looked "fake" to me
But I'm sure it's worth it for natural brown, a beautiful color, if that's your thing.

winkingchef

Wow, that's a nice leathery *** you have there Dan.

Joking aside, I agree. Not going with full leather (specifically natural brown) is the one regret I have about my cabrio. However, mine was used and I got a heck of a deal, so I don't fret over it.

If I ever go full bespoke-from-the-factory, Natural Leather will be one of the first boxes I tick.

YA911Fan

The "full leather" option is a misnomer when you're ordering a Porsche. "Full leather" on my GT3 order would have included lots of additional Alcantara which I detest so I decided to skip it. A true "full leather" 997 would probably cost another 10-20K in options.

As an aside, Porsche offers what seems like a thousand options so it's annoying when you still can't get what you want. Try ordering a 997 without the PCM screen or a GT3 without Alcantara...

REBor8

Ditto to Edgy's response. I've had full leather plus on my last two and wouldn't consider owning one with out it. If you're ordering one, get as much, on as many surfaces, as you prefer or can afford. To me, it really makes a difference.

ADias

Edgy01 knows his stuff. Great advice!

Da Hapa

Amen.