The story behind the range of legendary Porsche fabrics lovingly reissued for today’s classic Porsche customers
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Discover the fascinating story behind iconic Porsche fabrics like Pasha and Pepita, reissued for today’s owners of classic Porsche cars and ‘youngtimers’
Every curve, every headlight and every engine part that has gone into making a Porsche across more than 75 years of history is the result of the vision and dreams of the designers responsible. The same goes for the interior of the car too. For owners of a classic Porsche, each time they sit in their car they can literally feel history. It happens when they reach out and touch the steering wheel, place their hand on the gearstick or dashboard – and in the fabrics used to cover the seat they sit in and the door inlays. The names and design of these fabrics are steeped in history themselves. Legendary designs such as Pasha, Pepita and Tartan. Fabrics that over the decades wear beautifully, each creating their own unique patina. But, of course, owners wishing to restore their classic Porsche and ‘youngtimers’ may decide to update the interiors of their cars with brand new materials or perhaps return them to their original condition.Every Porsche ever made is a testimony to the company’s design and engineering craftsmanship, including legendary interior fabrics like Pasha, seen here in a 944 Photo: PorscheAnd for them, it’s important to know that in doing so they have access to these heritage designs that have been created with the same dedication and quality of the original fabrics. That they fit, feel and have the same durability. Which is why Porsche has reissued several of its most iconic interior fabrics that benefit from authentic Porsche quality. It’s a story that’s a testimony to the time-honoured levels of research, attention to detail and dedication of Porsche craftsmanship. Expertise that’s been handed down across the generations.Why are historical Porsche fabrics being reissued? Just as Porsche owners and fans wax lyrical about the iconic flyline of a classic 911 or pop-up headlights of the 924, the same goes for the materials inside the cars themselves. Every bit as much as the exterior, Porsche textiles and patterns have helped create its special design language.As a result, Porsche fabrics like Pasha, Pepita, Tartan and pinstripes have achieved legendary status in their own right, helping to forge the unique identity of models from the very first Porsche sportscar, the 356, through to the transaxle generation and the many generations of the 911. Today, Historical Fabrics by Porsche bringing these patterns back to car interiors and out onto the open road in their original, certified Porsche quality, satisfying the demands of today’s customers and their cars.The range of ‘new old’ Porsche fabrics includes many legendary designs, like Pasha Photo: Porsche',Multicolour Cobalt Blue Photo: Porsche',Pepita Black/White Photo: Porsche',Pepita Red/Black/White Photo: Porsche'These revived, reissued and recreated fabrics help fulfill an important need for owners of Porsche classic and ‘youngtimers’ – that of authenticity. Over the course of time, many Porsche interiors have faded, worn out or been replaced with materials that were not sourced from Porsche itself. A persistent dilemma for those Porsche owners looking to sustain the original look and feel of their car’s interior is whether a fabric truly matches the original, let alone be suitable for use in a car. But Porsche has responded to that challenge with a new collection of historical fabrics that have been manufactured to meet the exacting standards for fit, feel, durability and safety that people expect from Porsche.These ‘new old’ fabrics seamlessly blend into existing interiors across a range of Porsche models from the past, even in the case of partial restorations. The materials have been subjected to processes like artificial ageing, extensive testing for flame resistance and light and colour fastness. They also have been tested for tear resistance for up to 90,000 so-called abrasion cycles.Each portion of material is presented in 1.5m x 2 m sections and delivers genuine Porsche quality, enabling owners to help return their classic Porsche to delivery condition standards. More than just a restoration, the results are a revival of a special design legacy, one that reinstates the car’s original character, one thread at a time.Which fabrics are currently available in the Historical Fabrics by Porsche range?The new Historical Fabrics by Porsche range feature some of the brand’s most cherished designs, presented in authentic quality. These include patterns that are instantly recognisable, that capture the essence of entire eras, models and the unswerving spirit of Porsche performance.Take Pepita, which first saw the light of day in the 356 C and then later in the 911 (F model). This chequered pattern, inspired by houndstooth cloth most readily associated with gentleman’s tailoring, returns in Black/White and Red/Black/White forms. They have been adjusted in tone in order to blend in seamlessly with the aged originals. Then there’s Tartan – known at Porsche as Schottenkaro – which reappears in two of its most famous variants of Red/Blue ‘McLaughlan’ and Green/Blue ‘Black Watch’ (named after the famous Scottish infantry battalion of the British Army who wear the pattern). Tartan has a particular association with 930 Turbo sportscars.There’s also Pasha – an early hallmark of the 928 models – whose dynamically flowing geometric pattern in initially available in the new fabrics in White/Black, with the promise of additional colourways to come.Owners of classic Porsche cars and ‘youngtimers’ can now buy ‘new old’ fabrics for their vehicles, painstakingly recreated following extensive research and reimagined for today Photo: PorscheFurther legendary Porsche fabrics join the current line-up in the form of the multicolour Cobalt Blue fabric used in Porsche sportscars like the 911 (type 964) from the early 1990s as well as the range of Porsche Rapport fabrics in Olive Green, Night Blue and Black. There’s also Black/White pinstripe velour, which was used across the transaxle ranges, such as the 924 and 928, as well the 911 (G model). Every stretch of fabric has been reconstructed using the precise patterns of the original featuring the high levels of materials and craftsmanship that we have become accustomed to from Porsche.There are several more fabrics in development for future reissue too, including the famed Lobster pinstripe. Each fabric available allows customers to rebuild their interiors to create the same impact their cars made when they left the Porsche factory at Zuffenhausen many years prior.How did Porsche develop the Historical Fabrics by Porsche range?At Porsche, the journey is just as important as the destination – and that has certainly been the case when the company embarked on its mission to recreate many of its historical fabrics. The meticulously-kept Porsche archives were an obvious starting point. Here, decades-worth of colour and trim catalogues, production cards, studio materials and prototypes helped reveal which textiles were used for which model and in which eras. In the basement of the Porsche archives, researchers were delighted to uncover untouched original rolls of materials. These priceless artifacts had been shielded from the ageing effects of UV light so were perfect to act as a form of DNA for the reconstruction of the ‘new old’ fabrics.But the research team didn’t end their investigations there. They also sourced samples from all over the world, like a perfectly-preserved 1975 green Tartan seat that was discovered in the United States and had never been installed in a Porsche. “It was like gold dust for us,” says Lukas Werginz, a product manager at Porsche, of the find. Discoveries like these helped the development team re-establish colours and patterns in exact detail.Tartan Fabric Red/Blue (McLaughlan) Photo: Porsche',Tartan Fabric Green/Blue (Black Watch) Photo: Porsche',Porsche Rapport Fabric Night Blue Photo: Porsche',Porsche Rapport Fabric Black Photo: Porsche'From this point, every pattern – the checks and diagonal stripes of Pepita, the historic geometrical Tartan and Pasha’s flowing motorsport-inspired optical illusion – was measured down to the millimetre. The resultant design drawings were constantly compared to the original patterns to achieve exact alignment. This was a particularly important step for customers performing partial restorations on their cars, where the new fabrics would meet its ancestors’ patina.The materials, dyes and weaving techniques were an equally key part of the process. Many of the original threads or the chemical compositions used to make the materials are no longer allowed today. It meant that Porsche had to engineer modern equivalents and then test them rigorously. The production process itself had to be adapted for modern textile machinery to reproduce the original patterns and first 10 metres of fabric.The final step for the fabrics was to undergo exacting and extensive testing at the Weissach Development Centre near Stuttgart to ensure fire resistance, light and colour fastness and tensile strength. Only then were the fabrics finally approved as Porsche Original Parts. This is authenticity that not only can be seen but felt too.Where can you buy Historical Fabrics by Porsche?The range of Historical Fabrics by Porsche are available now, exclusively at Porsche Centres and the Porsche Online Shop. Each piece sold meets official Porsche Original Parts standards. This makes them ideal for a wide range of applications in vehicle interiors, such as seat covers or side panels. They are available in a 1.5 m x 2 m sections.
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