Porshe has been obsessed with innovation, or needlessly reinventing the wheel, depending on how you look at it for decades. From stubbornly making the engine work in the back of the car to making an electric sedan that weighs well over two tons handle like a dream. As a result of this meticulousness, Porsche produces some of the greatest sports cars in the world. Building off this, the German sports car manufacturer is back at it again with their 3D-printed bucket seats.

Porsche 3D-Printed Seats: Build and Development

These new seats have been undergoing testing on racetracks throughout Europe ever since Porsche first announced them in March of 2020. It is now possible to get them fitted to your personal Porsche. Until now, the closest we got to seeing these seats was in September 2021 in the Mission R.

The seats are produced differently than other seats as well. Instead of gluing the 3D-printed bits and the rest of the seat together, they clip together. Porsche says this means that "the seat generates no emissions associated with adhesives."

The base of the seats is comprised of expanded polypropylene (essentially a stiff and durable foam), and the 3D-printed part is a cocktail of polyurethane-based materials. It is all then wrapped in grippy RaceTex faux suede to keep your bum planted.

How To Get Porsche's New 3D Printed Seats

Porsche's new 3D-printed seats can be ordered through the new Performance Parts range in Porsche Tequipment and can be installed in any model that is already offered with the standard bucket seat. They can also be acquired via Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur and in the normal configurator starting in February 2022.

However, only the 981 Boxster and Cayman, the 991 911, and the 718 982 Boxsters and Caymans that were built up to November 22, 2020, can have both the driver's and passenger's seats replaced with the 3D-printed ones. Regardless of which model you have, you will have to go to a dealership or other Porsche center to get them installed.

The 718 982 Boxsters and Caymans that were produced after November 22, 2020, and 992 911s can only have the driver's seat fitted with the 3D-printed seat. The listing price is €2,677.50 or about $3,105 based on current exchange rates.

Fancy features

There is a variety of stiffness for the seats, and more specifically, the 3D-printed parts. Soft, Medium, and Hard are the options here. The former having the most emphasis on comfort, and the latter being the harshest but more like racecar seats.

Because the 3D-printed material is laid out in a hexagonal mesh, there is passive climate control. Meaning that air can pass through the seat, even though is no mechanism pushing it through.