rijowysock

we all know you can select "full leather" as option, as well as maybe 20+ other items that can be done in leather..

but when someone orders a carrera and does not opt for any of these leather goodies, with standard seats... What in the car is leather?

on my car, i notice the steering wheel.. the door handles... the door arm rest... the center console lid.

the seats i have heard the seating materials are leather but they dont match in texture the other surfaces at all so i am to assume they are not leather, or if so which parts are leather?

-riley

rome

On the base Carrera I think all that stuff is actually not leather, but the tops on the seats are leather.

boolala

I think that standard leather consists of everything that routinely comes in contact with your body while driving. I.e., the seats (but not the seatbacks), steering wheel and gear shift lever.

stevepow

What you list above, in addition to the gear shift, is also how my car is, although vented seats adds a little more leather to the seat as all the perforated areas are leather versus just the seating area. If your car has a leather center console lid, that was probably an upgrade - mine is listed as an upgrade (CUV) on the sticker and has Carrera stamped on it. Otherwise, I don't think they are leather - but have not checked a "plain" one closely.

Edgy01

You will be surprised at how much of a regular Carrera or Carrera S is vinyl instead of leather--if you don't select leather interiors. Things like the dash are vinyl, as are the console, etc. The quality is very high, but it's not leather. Usually the best way to tell is by the thread--the seams.

quickxotica

OP: Your original assessment is basically correct. On a 997 without any leather options, just the seat faces, gearshift, steering wheel rim, door pocket lid and grab handles are leather. Nothing else. And the leather used is "standard" quality, which is highly treated.

Selecting "full" leather in a standard color (black, tan, blue or stone gray) gets you lots more "standard-quality" leather on the dash, doors, rear quater panels and center stack. But again it is highly treated leather, with what some refer to as a "painted" finish (the Edgy01 can elaborate).

Unfortunately, the only way to get really nice leather that actually looks, feels and smells like it belongs in a $100k car, is to select one of the "natural leather" options and the rear center console, door finishers, gear lever trim, etc etc. All of which adds about $7k-$9k+ to the price of the car depending on how far you go.

My 2 cents: either go big with full "natural leather" + all the trimmings or stick with the rubber dash and doors that are standard (at least they are tough and water resistant for those rainy autocrosses and trackdays when you have to run with the windows down).

rijowysock

thanx,

i had full leather+extra leather bits on my last 997 and hated the upkeep needed on the surfaces around the car... rainy day would make everything look and feel like crap.. i did like the stitching however.. was just curious because all my surfaces that i know are leather are smooth without much grain, and my seats are super heavy grain and dont feel leather anywhere.. so i was curious if the base cars without leather seats options had faux leather seats.

YA911Fan

Not all surfaces which resemble leather are leather. Not all surfaces which resemble metal are metal.

It's the Porsche way. You know, there is no substitute...

rijowysock

is that a Confucius quote or a reply?

Edgy01

You will find that the vinyl product is taken a bit over the top to "look" like leather--with pronounced pebbling of the surface. From my observations, Porsche has quite high quality vinyl and they go to a lot of trouble to get it to look good. The processed leathers (non-naturals) are sanded, embossed, and then coated with paint from a lower grade of leather. The top 5% of the leathers they get are reserved for their natural colors. What you will find is that the natural leathers are so good that they almost seem fake. They have absolutely no flaws on them. When years ago Connolly used to brag about how leather surfaces in the Rolls Royce showed the character of the leather, reflecting the fact that the cow that donated that leather may have had a run-in with a barbed wire fence, or been affected by the bite of a horse-fly. The Porsche naturals are flawless. Absolutely.

_Nathan

Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing Baby.