Tag Archives: Interior

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A Smarter Cabin for Porsche’s Future Classics

Porsche is giving owners of its modern classics a compelling reason to upgrade their in-car technology. The new-generation Porsche Classic Communication Management Plus (PCCM Plus) brings modern infotainment, navigation and connectivity features to more than 300,000 Porsche 911, Cayman and Boxster models built between 2009 and 2016.

Designed specifically for Porsche’s future classics, the latest PCCM Plus combines contemporary digital technology with a factory-style appearance that integrates seamlessly into the interiors of older sports cars. The system is available through Porsche Centres worldwide in two model-specific versions covering the 997.2, 987.2, 981 and 991.1 generations.

Porsche PCCM Plus Brings Modern Technology to Older Sports Cars

The Porsche PCCM Plus has become one of the most popular factory retrofit solutions for owners who want modern infotainment without compromising the original character of their cars.

The latest generation takes that concept considerably further. Rather than simply adding a new touchscreen, Porsche has developed the system to integrate more deeply with the vehicle’s existing architecture and controls.

The system features a seven-inch high-resolution touchscreen, while vehicles equipped with a multifunction steering wheel can also operate key infotainment functions through the existing steering-wheel controls.

Porsche has also retained support for vehicle-specific settings and information. Depending on the model and equipment, navigation instructions and music information can be displayed directly within the instrument cluster.

That level of integration is important for owners of collectible Porsche models, where aftermarket modifications can sometimes look out of place. The PCCM Plus is designed to appear as though it belongs in the car from the factory.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto With Wireless Connectivity

One of the biggest upgrades is the integration of modern smartphone connectivity.

The new Porsche PCCM Plus supports both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, with wireless connections available through Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. This allows owners to access compatible navigation, music, communication and other smartphone applications without relying on a conventional wired connection.

The system also supports Bluetooth audio streaming, including metadata such as song titles and artist information.

Depending on local regulations, YouTube video playback is also available when the vehicle is stationary.

Porsche has even added a visual customization feature that allows the virtual vehicle shown on the infotainment display to be configured in a Porsche exterior color. It is a small detail, but one that reinforces the connection between the digital interface and the physical car.

Navigation Gets More Sophisticated

Navigation is another area where the new PCCM Plus moves significantly beyond the technology originally available in these Porsche models.

The system can display speed-limit information based on map data and supports satellite imagery. Map updates can also be installed over the air, reducing the need for traditional manual update procedures.

For drivers who bought their Porsche for the experience rather than simply getting from A to B, Porsche has included its Scenic Roads navigation function. The system can select particularly winding and panoramic routes, potentially turning an ordinary journey into a more engaging drive.

The new infotainment system also provides access to vehicle information such as oil temperature and oil pressure through the trip display.

Visual Parking Assistance for Cayman and Boxster

The PCCM Plus also adds useful functionality to the Porsche Cayman and Boxster.

Models equipped with the existing acoustic parking aid can gain a visual representation of the distance to obstacles on the infotainment screen. This supplements the audible warnings with a more intuitive graphical display.

For owners of older sports cars that were developed before today’s extensive parking-assistance systems became commonplace, it is a meaningful convenience upgrade.

Modern Audio and Connectivity Features

Porsche has equipped the new PCCM Plus with a broad range of audio and connectivity technologies.

Depending on the market, the system supports DAB, HD radio, FM and AM through dual tuners. Existing vehicle sound systems can also be connected, helping owners retain the audio hardware already installed in their Porsche.

The system includes internal and external microphones, Bluetooth streaming and interfaces for external media sources.

A nano-SIM card slot with 4G connectivity further expands the system’s online capabilities, although the availability of individual connected services depends on the market and vehicle configuration.

Two Versions Cover the 987.2, 997.2, 981 and 991.1

Porsche is offering the new PCCM Plus in two model-specific configurations.

The first version is designed for the 911, Cayman and Boxster from model years 2012 to 2016, covering the 991.1 and 981 generations.

The second version is intended for model years 2009 to 2013, covering the 997.2 and 987.2 generations.

In total, Porsche says the new system is suitable for more than 300,000 vehicles that are increasingly being viewed as future classics.

The availability of individual functions varies according to the vehicle model, specification and market. Some services also require an active internet connection.

Porsche PCCM Plus: Key Facts

  • System: New-generation Porsche Classic Communication Management Plus
  • Compatible models: Porsche 911, Cayman and Boxster
  • Generations: 997.2, 987.2, 981 and 991.1
  • Model years: 2009–2016, depending on version
  • Display: Seven-inch high-resolution touchscreen
  • Smartphone integration: Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
  • Wireless connectivity: Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
  • Navigation: Map-based speed limits, satellite imagery and Scenic Roads
  • Map updates: Over the air
  • Audio: DAB, HD, FM and AM dual tuners, plus Bluetooth streaming
  • Connectivity: 4G nano-SIM support
  • Vehicle information: Oil temperature and oil pressure
  • Parking assistance: Visual obstacle-distance display on compatible Cayman and Boxster models
  • Availability: Porsche Centres worldwide
  • Installation: Porsche recommends installation at a Porsche Centre

Source: Porsche

News

Porsche Digs Into Its Archives to Revive Iconic Interior Fabrics—Pepita, Pasha, Tartan, and More Are Back

Porsche has always understood that design doesn’t stop at the sheetmetal. Yes, the Stuttgart brand’s silhouette work—long hoods, fastback roofs, the unmistakable 911 profile—gets much of the glory. But inside, Porsche has spent decades building a second, quieter legacy: textiles. Pepita, Pasha, tartan, pinstripes—patterns that became as much a part of the Porsche identity as air-cooled flat-sixes and whale tails.

Now, those storied fabrics are making a comeback.

“By reissuing these fabrics we are closing a gap,” says Ulrike Lutz, Director Classic at Porsche. With many owners eager to return their classic or young-timer Porsches to exact factory specification, the brand saw demand for authentic upholstery rise sharply. The problem? The market was flooded with look-alike materials—patterns that resembled the originals but didn’t hold up to the quality standard Porsche demands. “We want to offer our customers a tested original alternative again,” Lutz adds.

Authenticity, Down to the Last Thread

These aren’t mere tribute reprints. Porsche dug into its company archives, retrieving original samples and specifications to ensure the new runs match not only the look, but the feel, durability, and color accuracy of the factory materials. Because often restorers aren’t redoing an entire interior—just one heavily worn seat bolster, a faded insert, or a single sun-bleached door card.

“Often, the upholsterer only has to reupholster the driver’s seat,” explains product manager Lukas Werginz. Matching a 40- or 50-year-old passenger seat requires ruthless precision, particularly with complex patterns. To that end, Porsche subjects the revived fabrics to a battery of durability tests: fire resistance, abrasion resistance, and light and color fastness. The new materials are sold as Porsche Genuine Parts in 1.5-by-2-meter sheets, ready for everything from seat centers to side panels.

The lengths Porsche went for accuracy are almost archaeological. In the U.S., the Classic team uncovered a pristine, unused 911 seat from 1975—still wearing immaculate green tartan upholstery. “Stored in a light-proof cupboard, and therefore perfectly preserved, this new-old-stock item was gold dust for us,” Werginz recalls.

Pepita: The Checkered Icon Returns

Pepita—its checked pattern linked by diagonal stripes—first appeared in the 356 in 1963, then in the early 911 two years later. The name traces back to 19th-century Spanish dancer Pepita de Oliva, but the pattern’s fashion fame came courtesy of Christian Dior. In Porsche lore, Pepita is synonymous with the brand’s early years: light, simple, and classically European.

Tartan: Turbo-Era Attitude

Tartan carries a different energy: heritage, confidence, and a bit of rebellious flair. Porsche offered three distinct tartans in the 1974 911 Turbo, expanding availability to the standard 911 lineup shortly after. It even appeared in concept form at the 1973 Frankfurt IAA on a 911 RSR Turbo study trimmed in Black Watch tartan.

Perhaps the most famous tartan Porsche ever delivered belonged to Louise Piëch—daughter of Ferdinand Porsche and mother of Ferdinand Piëch—whose silver “No. 1” 911 Turbo featured deep red leather and McLaughlan tartan inserts. It doesn’t get more Porsche-family-royalty than that.

Pasha: The Lounge-Racer Statement Piece

And then there’s Pasha—the most divisive, unmistakable Porsche textile ever created. Inspired by racing chequered flags and conceived under the wild design team of Anatole “Tony” Lapine and Vlasta Hatter, Pasha is a hypnotic grid of expanding and contracting rectangles that seems to pulse with movement.

First shown in a 928 in 1977 and later offered in the 911, 924, and 944, Pasha became the unofficial interior of Porsche’s late-’70s and early-’80s aesthetic. Its name was meant to evoke an Ottoman sultan lounging on luxurious cushions. Subtle, it was not—but unforgettable, absolutely.

Today, Porsche has revived Pasha not only for restorations but for new vehicles as well, debuting the pattern in the 911 Spirit 70 special edition. It’s a bold callback to a time when Porsche interiors weren’t afraid to swing for the fences.

Source: Porsche

News

BMW’s Five Greatest Cabins

BMW has long been the master of the driver’s car. We all know that. The balance, the precision, the “oh go on then, one more corner” magic that seeps into your bones every time you take the long way home. But as it turns out, Munich’s boffins are just as obsessive about the space around the driver as what’s under the bonnet.

From stripped-out M specials to rolling lounges that could give Rolls-Royce an inferiority complex, BMW’s interiors have always carried a certain rightness. Purposeful. Emotional. Meticulously put together, yet never sterile. And among the many hits, five stand out as the very best of the breed — a greatest-hits album of BMW cabins through the ages.

BMW M5 CS (F90) – The Ultimate Blend

The M5 CS — the ultimate fast saloon gone feral. Here’s a car that manages to feel both brutally quick and genuinely special before you even hit the start button.

BMW fitted lightweight bucket seats up front, then had the audacity to remove the middle rear seat and replace it with two sculpted buckets. Red accents trace through the cabin, Nürburgring logos peek out from the headrests, and the familiar iDrive 7 interface (before BMW went all-screen-everywhere) keeps things classic yet modern.

It’s a masterclass in restraint. The CS proves you don’t need an interior overhaul to create drama — just the right details in the right places.

BMW 7 Series (G70) – The Rolling Lounge

At the other end of the emotional spectrum, the latest 7 Series feels like BMW’s answer to a luxury spaceship. Gone are the days when the 7er was a driver’s secret limousine. This one’s built to be driven in.

The showpiece? A 31-inch, 8K Theater Screen that drops from the roof like the world’s most extravagant in-flight entertainment system. Fire up Netflix in the back seat, recline into buttery two-tone leather — say, Caramel/Atlas Grey or Night Blue/Taupe Grey — and you’re effectively in business class. BMW hasn’t just edged closer to Rolls-Royce territory here; it’s practically set up camp on the front lawn.

Sure, it might not make your heart race from behind the wheel, but if your chauffeur happens to be on speed dial, there’s no finer BMW interior to stretch out in.

BMW Z8 – The Time Capsule

Let’s start with a car that looks like it drove straight out of a Bond film — because, well, it did. The BMW Z8 was a love letter to the brand’s past and a manifesto for its future. Under the bonnet lay an M5 heart, and only around 6,000 ever saw the light of day.

But inside, it was pure theatre. The centrally mounted gauges, that thin three-spoke steering wheel, and the minimalist switchgear — all whispering retro cool without shouting retro pastiche. It’s simple, elegant, and utterly timeless. The ALPINA Roadster V8 version adds its own twist: blue-backed dials, unique badging, and a numbered plaque, as if you needed reminding you were in something rare. But it’s the manual Z8 — clutch pedal and all — that truly nails the “driver’s cockpit” brief. An interior you don’t just sit in. You wear it.

BMW M Coupe – The Clown Shoe’s Hidden Genius

Ah, the M Coupe — or as enthusiasts lovingly call it, the clown shoe. It’s an oddball, and proudly so. Short, squat, and bursting with attitude, it’s one of those cars that looks like it was designed during a particularly fun Bavarian lunch break.

Inside, though, it’s where things get interesting. The dashboard is familiar if you’ve sat in a Z3, but the M Coupe spices things up with unique analog gauges perched above the center console, quirky Z3-specific buttons, and surprisingly practical hatchback space behind the seats. A panoramic glass roof — rare back in the late ‘90s — rounds out a package that’s both eccentric and brilliantly functional.

It’s a perfect encapsulation of BMW at its weirdest and most wonderful: a cockpit that’s as individual as the car itself.

BMW M3 CSL (E46) – The Purist’s Playground

Now we’re getting serious. The E46 M3 CSL wasn’t just a sharper M3 — it was a statement of intent. BMW M stripped it down, lightened it up, and gave it an interior that screamed race car for the road.

Out went the fluff; in came exposed carbon fiber. Center console? Carbon. Door cards? Carbon. Even the radio delete plate? You guessed it — carbon. Add in deep bucket seats, Alcantara highlights, and a general sense that this thing would eat a track day for breakfast, and you’ve got one of BMW’s most focused interiors ever.

It was raw, minimal, and utterly addictive. The CSL’s cabin didn’t coddle you — it dared you. It set the tone for everything from the M3 GTS to the M4 CSL that followed.

BMW’s greatest interiors aren’t just about leather grades or pixel counts. They’re about feeling. The sense that someone, somewhere in Bavaria, cared deeply about how a driver — or passenger — would experience every moment inside.

Whether you’re carving through mountain roads in a Z8 or watching a movie in the back of a 7 Series, each of these cabins captures a distinct part of BMW’s soul. And together, they remind us why — even in an era of screens and silence — the ultimate driving machine still knows how to make you feel something.

Source: BMWBlog