Alcantara, can someone explain the allure?

Dashboard only to reduce reflection...and shrinking leather. I think that those who have gone along with the Alcantara "craze" have been taken for a ride. Your car costs $300K and your interior is pseudo pseude? I don't get it, either.

 

My first car with alcantara seats was a GT3. I really wanted leather, but they didn't have it. It was on the steering wheel, the seats, the headliner - everywhere. It's ultra-suede.

It keeps you planted in the seat. I would never put it on a car that had "comfort" anywhere in its description. It doesn't have the smell of leather, it doesn't have the feel of it, nor does it have the look - it's a nappy fabric. But somehow, it's grown on me. I used to hate the stuff, but now I can go either way. Although real suede should be an option.

The tech-fabric they use in the Scuderia, although it keeps you planted in the seat, looks like garbage and should be ditched. They even used the stuff for the headliner. It looks and feels cheap.

 

I don't get it ... hear it all the time

I have a CS with black leather and Alcantara dash top

G

 

Have recently picked up our '09 F430 with Alcantara interior - and yes, we chose that when we ordered the car.

Now that it is here, I have to admit, the blend of suede and leather (at least in the color we ordered) is fantastic! Picture suede on the Daytona seats with leather as the straps. At least from this owner, I am very pleased I did - and would do it again. Plus the suede elsewhere is carefully appointed.

It is not an often order option. As such, it helps gives a little differentiation and offers something not often seen. As far as price, yes it costs a fair bit - but in the big picture, I was OK with it.

It may not look the best in the Scuderia, but in our car looks great.

Would make the same choice again.

 

I'm with you, leather all the way! I do like an Alcantara headliner though..

 

I personally think it's fantastic - It looks great, it feels great, what's the problem?

I think the areas that most benefit from the fabric are the headliners and seat inserts

A headliner of alcantara is absolutely beautiful and no other material could create the effect that it does - My E55 headliner is gray alcantara and it looks stunning

Seat inserts are another great use, due to the fact that is helps keep you in your seat as others have mentioned.

Although, if my whole interior was covered in it (Gallardo Superleggera)... I wouldn't complain one bit

 

My Audi S3 has Alcantara in the central section of the seats and I really like it. It's helps to keep you planted in the seat.

 

I personally love alcantara. As a headliner, on seats, or door panels it looks awesome. the best use I have seen is on the steering wheel The best part is that it is synthetic and easy to clean. Having worked in the car business for many years, I can tell you that it is one of the biggest profit makers for the auto companies. I was told many years ago that alcantara is actually cheaper than leather, but it is always priced higher. Brilliant on the part of alcantara to position a lower-cost material ast he premium choice.

 

Quite simply vinyl is a cheap substitute for leather and is generally inferior in every way.

On the other hand Alcantara gives all of the look and feel of suede with none of the drawbacks. It is a fantastically durable material that does not shine up or stain like suede. Suede is just WAY too fragile for use in a car. Alcantara is far from a cheap substitute, it is an advanced synthetic fabric much like carbon fiber replaces much steel or aluminum with unparalleled performance gains. It is an extremely shortsighted view to think that Alcantara, because it is synthetic, is in any way a cheap substitute. It is its own material alongside leather and cloth; choose the one you like

I personally love it as an accent but not for entire surfaces (except maybe the dash).

 

I like Alcantara. Even though it's not used much (or at all) in motorsport, it looks like it could be. As Nuvolari said, it's a quality made and looking fabric that's better in auto applications than the actual natural material. My old 997 GT3's interior looked new after 6K miles. Not that that's a whole lot of use, but it's enough in-and-out of the car to start wearing an inferior material.

I think Alcantara/leather combinations are sharp, the two compliment each other very well. Yet, an entire interior outfitted in Alcantara is probably a bit much. However, if there are some large carbon pieces to break it up, as in the CS/Scuderia, it looks nice. Colored stitching helps, too.

Actually, when I see a Scuderia interior in leather, it's nice, but it kind of looks a little out of place to me - almost like a race car with leather. Of course, the Scuderia is not a race car, but it is styled to look the part (bare floors, aggressive styling, etc). It's almost as weird as an F40 with a leather dash, seats, etc.

 

Try leather standard seats on track and you´ll get the answer. Even racing seats with leather is a big nono for track use imo.

However i prefer nomex over alcantara since it´s flame resistent.

 

Agree

 

I like it,its not so cold in the winter mornings.
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http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=222459&highlight=Alcantara

OK so the stuff is just the mutt's nuts. I'll concede.

But.

You have the homecoming queen in your passenger seat:

HCQ: Wow! I love your car!

FerrariStudThatsYou: Thanks, Its a Ferrari and it increases my testosterone 300%.

HCQ: Kewl!

FSTY: <Tenses arm muscles to show definition>

HCQ: I love this leather!

FSTY: It's not leather, its alcantara.

HCQ: Huh?

FSTY: It's a man-made product thats combines most of the properties of petro-chemicals with a leather-like look.

HCQ: Oh! Like Naugahyde!

FSTY: No! Not at all like Naugahyde! This is a modern product thats lighter than leather and more stable and breathes.

HCQ: Oh! Pleather!

FSTY: No! Not like pleather at all! It cost a lot!

HCQ: I think I should get out now.

 

Since when would you tell the homecoming queen the truth?

Tell her that it is an exotic material that is more expensive and luxurious than leather. This way will give you an opportunity to test the fantastic ability to get stains off of Alcantara

 

Sit in a scuddy with black alcantara, yellow stitching, yellow horsies and carbon fiber.

I love the look and the feel. It seems ultra-luxurious. It makes me feel good.

Shallow? yes. But I love it.

 

I don't care for it and I ordered my F430 without it. To me, it's fake suede. I like the look and feel but I think it's too much hassle for what it's worth.

I had a 91 Alfa Spider that came with Alcantara inserts in the seats. I put 150K on that car as my daily driver. The inserts collected dirt immediately and wore out twice as fast as the surrounding leather which took much more of a beating. That was enough for me.

Interestingly, Maserati Bi Turbos had it in various parts of their interior. But, Maserati put on the window sticker "suede" interior (some think intentionally). I know of several lawyers who took them to task over it to try to get their money back claiming false representation of what they purchased. I'm sure that's why you see such a strong reference to "alcantara" and never suede. It's a synthetic material, not real suede.

 

Is alcantera the material that wraps the ('06) Gallardo stearing wheel? Whatever that is, it wears really poorly.

 

I had a '94 Alfa Spider that did exactly the same thing. However, the material in question was not alcantara. It was real suede. So much for "real" suede being any better...

 

Thing is, leather interiors don't have the ooh-aah factor they once had. These days, even reasonably priced cars offer leather. No, it's not the quality of leather offered in fine cars, or used as lavishly, but to the average person it's still leather. I don't think a leather interior is impressing the prom queen - if she can't wear it, she's not interested.

I could see very finely done leather interiors (say in a Bentley, Rolls, etc) drawing some praise, though. In addition to leather, those interiors offer many other luxury appointments - extensive use of finely finished wood, ultra-plush carpeting, small details, etc. The combination provides a rich look above that of the average fine car.

I'm not saying Ferrari's leather interiors aren't unique - everyone here knows the difference - but I don't see the leather work impressing the average person the way it once did.

 

My Murci lp640 had a suede steering wheel and in less than a year it went shiny and looked terrible.
It did look cool when the car was new though.


Russell

 

I cannot comment on the material that Lamborghini used for their steering wheels however I have lots of experience with racing steering wheels made from Alcantara and have never had issues with tearing, shining, or material degredation even after extreme service conditions.

As for the Alfa Romeo seats, they looked beautiful new but were made from real suede and ruined almost immediatly. A really bad material choice and proof of why suede is best suited to fine clothing that sees light use only.

 

Vinyl or cloth looks, smells and feels cheap. Leather and other hide wrinkles and ages really fast although it initially smells good. Leather is also uncomfortable as it doesn't breathe well.

The alcantara on my 04, seats, dash as well as headliner, still looks and feels great. Alcantara seems to be more resilient and comfortable than any other upholstery matterial out there. It neither wears nor wrinkles and still looks new after 5 years. The only place I wouldn't put it, is on steering wheel and shift knob. I can't imagine hand sweat being good for it since it would absorb moisture and dirt.

-Peter Oh

 

I personally love the stuff. Sitting in a CS with red/black alcantara and carbon fiber brings a tear to my eye.