Reutter-Carosserie
"In this Special Series, I document my complete interior restoration along with some upgrades to CSL specifications.
On this entry, I document my unboxing impressions and cover the specs of my Recaro Pole Positons ABEs.
I give a preview to my plans for the BMW M specific custom seat program in collaboration with David at Recovered Workshop."
-Matt
Why the Poles, and why Recaro
There are a few great seat brands on the market today: Sparco and Cobra come to mind.
I respect these companies for what they do, but sets are like the crown jewelries of builds in *some* aspects. They're the finishing touch - if you haven't ran out of budget by then.
There's just something about the Recaro brand that is eternal.
It's a statement. They are the BBS brand for seats, without the bankruptcy.
It takes Germans to create a seat brand with the euphonic of Latin poetry while still having etymological origins in their Saxon language.
Clap Clap Recaro!
Unboxing the Pole Position ABEs
I giggled unboxing these brand new Recaro Pole Position ABE in Nardo Artista upholstery and fiberglass shell.
They were shipped straight from Germany and took about 5 weeks to get here.
The seat belt holes aren't ideal for an E46 M3, but they'll do.
The Poles are suitable for 3 and 4 point belts.
All the Recaros I source via EuroConnex come with recent manufacturing dates.
Arguably one of the greatest seat design ever.
I opted for Nardo Arista as it was the cheapest available seat in stock. I had plans.
Combining the crown jewels.
It felt right to combine the Recaros with M-Texture to create a modern OE+ seat.
The center covers will get reupholstered in a modern reproduction of M-Texture.
I sourced an accurate reproduction of M-Texture.
M-Texture: a sign of its time.
Back then, it feels like designers and engineers would put their own signature on some options of their cars.
The M-Texture always felt like it was.
It was one of the few multi layered, perforated, alcantara cloth option for an M cars, ever. The E39 M5 also had a limited run of these interiors as well.
You can see the bottom layer on the right.
No matter the condition of the E46 M3, I was lucky enough to land on an interesting spec: PY, 6spd, and M-Texture interior.
It was dirty, but salvage.
Up next: David and I start tearing into the OEM seats.
In collaboration with David and his team at Recovered Workshop.
I'll chat about how it sets the stage for the BMW M custom seat program.
