eflight

I'm looking at a c4S with Alcantara steering wheel and front seat inlay.

Unfortunately car is on the other coast and I've never seen this stuff or touched it in person.

Car will be my daily driver

So is this stuff a good thing or a bad thing?

LastMezger

PROS:

-Because racecar;-)
-Lighter than leather?
-Only some people can pronounce it.

CONS:

-Not terribly durable.
-Butt print is obvious to everyone.
-Some owners can't pronounce it.

Dave I

Flame retardant material used in some racing applications. Tactile feel is similar to suede.

CBejbl

Big fan of it on the seats. Not so much on the steering wheel. I prefer some perf leather, feels better and has better grip.

buddy911t

I wasn't sure if it was natural or man-made. Turns out it's a created fabric. I really like the feel and look of it, just like good suede, and it must wear well if porsche is using it on wear areas

GSIRM3

I don't like it. It looks bad after a year or two on steering wheel and gear shifter. I opted for full leather on my GTS just to avoid alcantara.

MLindgren

I replaced my steering wheel 3 years ago w/alcantara. Shows no signs of wear and feel great.

paver

Haven't had it long enough to know cons, but it looks awesome as an accent. I got sport buckets after I bought the car...the ones that have the leather inserts. They would look way better if they had alcantara inserts.

Edgy01

You can wash it. Try washing your leather interior.

LastMezger

Er you can wipe most things off leather, no?

eflight

Thanks guys.

The car has pretty much everything else I was looking for so I guess I see no reason not to go for it

Now time to negotiate

Tcc1999

Agree totally. Had it on an M3. Lots of piling on the steering wheel and the drivers seat looked worn and tired after two years. The natural oils on your hands and sweat (or if you wear shorts) in my experience does a number on it (which is why I opted for leather in my GTS). That said, I recall on M forums that there are ways to bring it back to life if it begins to pile; if I were in the used market it wouldn't be a deal breaker if I found a car that had everything else I was looking for.

Jake951

I've had it 5 years on my GT3 and it's holding up very well. No wear issues. I also like it on the track because the stuff is much grippier than leather. One downside: it doesn't smell as nice as leather.

gota911

It is the same fabric that the roof liner is made of. It does get matted down, and IMO, looks bad after a couple of years of daily driving. I would not own a porsche with alcantara on the seats, steering wheel or shifter.

DMoore

I seem to be all alone here, but I have Alcantara in my GTS and I really like it. I live inland from LA where it gets HOT in the summer. I can't count the number of times I've singed my legs or hands when getting into the car. Alcantara doesn't get hot in the summer, and (much less of a problem here) doesn't feel cold in the winter. I've only had my car for one year (15k miles so far) but I see no detectable wear. My Panamera is full leather and, if I had my choice, it too would have an Alcantara interior.

Even when it's not hot, the seats grip better and the steering wheel feels better in my hand than a leather wheel. I have full leather in my Panny and I've had two previous 911's with leather, so I do have a basis for comparison.

YMMV.

DMoore
'11 GTS
'10 Panamera 4S