Porsche Is Reissuing Some Of Its Groovy Retro Seat Fabric

Modern car interiors are, in general, really boring. You get seats wrapped in cloth, leather, Alcantara or a swishy new eco-friendly alternative to any of the above, and generally, they only come in a range of muted colours, unless you’re throwing money at a higher-end manufacturer and one of their in-house personalisation divisions.

Turn the clock back to the ’60s and ’70s, though, and it was a different story, no more so than at Porsche. The manufacturer’s sports cars could be optioned up with all manner of groovy interior materials, and there’s some good news if you now own one of those cars and its seats are looking a bit tired, because Porsche has reissued some of its most legendary interior fabrics as new-old parts.

Part of the reason for this, says the company, is to fight the wave of lower-quality imitations that have popped up over the years. “Unfortunately, there are many imitations on the market that are either not at all suitable as seat fabric or lose their appearance after a short time. That's why we want to offer our customers a tested original alternative again," says director of Porsche Classic, Ulrike Lutz.

Perhaps the most famous among the reissued patterns, which have been recreated using perfectly preserved original fabrics as reference, is Pasha. First offered on the 928 in 1977, it takes the traditional black and white chequered flag pattern and distorts it to give the impression of waving. It recently reappeared in a new car in the ’70s-inspired 911 Spirit 70 special edition.

Then there’s Pepita, a take on the diagonal chequered houndstooth pattern. Named after a 19th century Spanish dancer (we’re not sure why either), it was first introduced not by Porsche but fashion designer Christian Dior as part of his 1947 collection. It first appeared on a car from Stuttgart in the 1963 356.

Sir Jackie Stewart will be pleased to know that two of the brand’s tartan fabrics are making a comeback too, the pattern’s first use in a Porsche coming on the original 911 Turbo in 1974. Also making a return are some of the materials the company was fond of in the ’80s, including a vertically pinstriped velour, and a couple featuring Porsche lettering.

All this sounds like excellent news for anyone with a classic Porsche restoration project. Now, can we please find a way of making some of these fabrics available in more new Porsches too?