Reutter-Carosserie

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.

 

 


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