What are seats to the Ultimate Driving Machine? Nein!

"In this first entry to the Series, I go down history lane of BMW M performance seats in naturally aspirated M cars, the rise of the BMW Performance brand and its most desirable E9x generation option: the seats.
I chat about the intentions with the re-creation of the BMW Performance style CS seats - and how we got lucky."
- Matt
BMW M rarely made ultimate driving seats.
To begin with, I suggest a trip down history lane of BMW M seats. It's a short list: there were few great seats offered by BMW M in their signature cars until newer generation M received proper standard seats.
As a North American, this list doesn't exist at all as all 3x special edition seats showcased below were exclusively available in European markets.
E46 M3 CSL.
The story inevitably begins with the M3 CSL. The lightweight coupe sported unique bucket seats sharing some design references with the Recaro Pole Positions.
Distinctively, BMW M chose to steer the seat's design for street usability. The bucket was entirely seamless; there were no cutouts to pass through racing harnesses. The shell itself was made of fiberglass, it's a strange material choice considering the CSL' abundant use of carbon fiber technology.
Additionally, the lower side bolster were lower than standard bucket seats to make climbing in and out of them easier, along with a seat bracket system that allowed slight tilting to allow rear seat access.
The CSL seats used unique cloth for the center sections and made use of Alcantara across the outer cover.

E90 M3 CRT.
The E90 M3 CRT, an abbreviation for Carbon Racing Technology, featured innovative carbon fiber parts developed during BMW M's expansion into new composite manufacturing processes and technologies. The overall composite package lightened the E90 by approximately 100 lbs over a comparable standard production M3 sedan.
A significant component to the recipe were the unique carbon bucket seats. They were a ground up design entirely made by BMW.
They were never available for sale outside the factory fitted units in the 67x CRTs produced.
The CRT seats were upholstered in Black Novillo leather with Sakhir Orange center sections. The double "French" stitching enhanced the overall aesthetics of the seats.



E92 M3 GTS.
The M3 V8 GTS took further steps towards track preparation over the previous Special Edition M3s,
All of the its components were selected towards making the GTS perform more efficiently on the track.
It had more displacement, stiffer & adjustable suspension, bigger rotors with monoblock calipers, front and rear aerodynamics and a lightweight exhaust. The interior was simplified with an eye on safety with the rear seats deleted in favour of a half cage, rear seat delete with a fire extinguisher system and race harnesses for bucket seats.
The GTS was a step backwards in many refinements and one-off parts that made the CSL special for many. Case in point, BMW M fitted standard, off the shelf Recaro SPG XL.
The BMW Press photography had seats without the Recaro signage.

The 138x production GTS had to do with standard Recaros.

BMW Performance became a thing.
BMW Performance parts were sort of officially launched with the E9x M3 and its smaller sibling, the 1 series. BMW Performance part did exist in BMW M's prior history with the E46 carbon strut bar and the E60 black grills, but it wasn't until the E8x/E9x that it became a complete catalog.
BMW M did the right thing by M3 V8 owners in delivering proper factory parts with aftermarket appeal: carbon splitters, mirror caps, trunk spoilers, interior trims, Alcantara steering wheels, inconel rear exhaust sections and more parts were developed for the E9x M3.
BMW M's controversial transformation in a larger revenue channel may have started here with the launch of the M Performance parts catalog on non M cars, and the X series of M.
The BMW Performance seats.
With the launch of the E9x and E8x chassis, BMW officially introduced the Performance seats. It was not a BMW M initiative nor was it model specific, the seats were featured across the BMW AG 1 series and 3 series catalogues. They were readily available as a catalog option across Europe.
Evidently based off the Recaro Sportster CS, BMW's Performance seats were designed for street use first and foremost. It had a reclinable backrest for rear seat access in Coupés and an open shoulder design for further comfort over bucket seats.
The Performance seats featured premium designs to distinguish itself from the Recaro CS: it used Alcantara, superior leather quality, signature embroidery, double "French" stitching and painted harness covers.
The seats were also notoriously integrated with OEM electronics: the air bags and heated elements were connected to the original seat harness. Although fitted with side airbags, the BMW Performance seats did not contain the passenger occupancy mat as is required for all passenger cars in the US.
Unfortunately, those seats were never legally available in the BMW USA parts network.
Aftermarket retailers took notice of the demand and limited supply for these seats, some started importing seats into the US and selling them at a significant premium. A few owners managed to import grey market seats from Europe and Asia.
The BMW Performance seats eventually went out of production in 2017, with sparse inventory across Europe that eventually ran dry.
Credit: BMW Performance.
The intentions to the re-creation.
With the CRT seats been unattainable, and the GTS' Recaros being off-the-shelf, the BMW Performance came to be perceived as the Special Edition seats to augment an M3 V8 and 1M.
I directed my efforts towards a new project : the re-creation of the BMW Performance seats down to the most minute details. To have any chances of fulfilling these ambitions, I needed to source a BMW Performance seat to dissect and inspect.
Ahead of time, I imported a set of Euro-spec CS in artificial leather last Summer planning to use them to start from scratch.
Sourcing the original.
I set up notifications across various marketplaces and waited [..] waited, and waited. We found a single driver seat for sale: at 3,500$ CAD. I talked to the seller and put a deposit down immediately.
He was on a schedule: originally from Ontario, he was vacationing in Gaspesie and was driving back through Quebec for the next day. I drove out of Montreal's old port, off the island and out to the suburbs to catch him at an Ikea parking's lot.
The backstory is peculiar: the seller had bought a 135i with a BMW Performance driver seat previously purchased and installed by the original owner at a BMW dealership. The seat was fitted to alleviate lower back discomfort as they were more comfortable than stock 1 series seats apparently, ah!
Long live the V10's speed and the E60's trunk - I caught the guy in time and carefully slipped the seats in the trunk.

With the original secured, it was time to inspect, dissect and plan.
Up next: I document the differences with the Recaro Sportster CS seat.