I know there a number of people that have reupholstered their seats or other interior parts. At one point, I really wanted some suede seats and steering wheel like the M3 CSL, but seeing as how suede is not very durable, it didn't seem possible. Then I discovered nubuck leather, which is more durable than suede. However, any water would damage the nubuck, and since we own convertibles, eventually there'd be a bird or two that will land a few on the good old seats. But today, I discovered that the M3 CSL actually uses a synthetic man-made leather called "amaretta" or "alcantara."

Has anyone found an upholstry shop that has access to this stuff?

 

there is a place here in the south side of chicago called dubois fabric.... they have them there, but quite expensive.....its like double the price of leather by the sq.ft......

 

Doesn't Rick Hisel have his corbeau(sp?) seats upholstered in alcantara? If not.. tis probably just my bad memory.

 

There's some sort of microfiber fabric that's being used a lot in furniture. Feels almost exactly like suede, but it's supposed to hold up a lot better. You might try that. (Is it called alcantara or something else?)

 

Alcantara is tipicaly used as a more durable subsitute for suade, the Audi S4 two-tone seats use alcantara for the centers and it is easy to clean and very durable. I would highly suggest getting your centers recoverd in alcantara since it keeps your butt in it's place when flying around a corner. I love alcantara and I would rather have it over full leather.

 

Call California Soft Trim (also have a Web Site). they redid my old Camaro interior with leather. They did a great job, it was $925 for the entire car.