P1 Designs: What Are They All About?
Porsche does a lot of things really well. They have solidified their place on the automotive world stage by frequently proving time and time again that they know exactly what their consumers want and then delivering it.
To an exceptional degree of accuracy both in terms of power and performance as well as style and aesthetics. But not every consumer wants the same thing, and while Porsche does a pretty damn good job of offering a variety of options, they don’t always quite hit the mark for some people. And that’s fine; we shouldn’t really expect them to. That’s where P1 Designs comes in.
No one will ever create a car that is perfect in everyone’s eyes, as we are all so different with our own wants, needs, tastes, and styles. One way that Porsche owners like to make their cars their own is with a little interior decorating.
P1 Designs is one such route for those who feel the need to make their Porsche their own, and that is what we are here to talk about today.
This blog post will cover a little bit about P1 Designs, what they are all about, and what the benefits of changing up the interior of your Porsche are – as well as a breakdown of the logistics and process of changing up your interior. Let’s dive right into it.
Highlights
- Porsche P1 Designs is an aftermarket interior design and manufacturing company for Porsche’s.
- Founded by David Del Vecchio, P1 Designs offers alternative, easily installable seat inserts for Porsche owners to personalize their vehicles.
- P1 Designs offers a variety of seat options tailored to different preferences, body shapes, and aesthetic styles.
- Porsche owners can easily replace their stock seats with P1 Designs seats, as they are designed to be velcroed into place.
- The cost for P1 Designs seats is reasonable, with the driver’s seat priced at $995 to $1,395.
Who Are P1 Designs?
P1 Designs is an aftermarket interior design and manufacturing company that is aimed at a wide variety of Porsches. Basically, they create alternative, easily installable interiors and give Porsche owners the power to drastically change aspects of the interiors of their cars very easily, albeit not necessarily very cheaply in some cases.
P1 Designs is owned and operated by Kim and David Del Vecchio and was created by David specifically because of an experience he had after trading his 2007 Porsche GT3 for a 2016 Porsche GT4 in the fall of 2017.
He felt that the stock/standard interior of his new GT4 didn’t accurately represent the car and what it is all about, nor did it look (he felt) that it was even particularly visually pleasing to look at.
This led to a set of black and white houndstooth seat covers designed and manufactured (by David) for the Lightweight Bucket seats. Since the interior seats for many Porsches have the option for a Carbon Bucket seat and other types of seats with seat inserts, they are basically just velcroed into place, it was very easy to create a different style of seat and more or less clip it in in place of the OEM seats.
Based on a lot of interest and encouragement from the wider Porsche community, some of whom also wanted to personalize the interior of their own Porsches, P1 Designs was quickly launched, and it took very little time to take off.
According to P1 Designs and the data we have from the Porsche community as a whole, the business has been a resounding success under Kim’s guidance, high standards, and the desire to help Porsche owners achieve the right combination of performance comfort to meet their high standards.
P1 Designs Enhancements and Achievements
To further elaborate on P1 Designs, I’ve elaborated on their journey by including some of their achievements over the years in the below table:
| Enhancement/Achievement | Description |
|---|---|
| Fabric Sourcing | Obtained Pepita from Germany, various Tartans from Europe; Regularly updating with unique fabrics. |
| 996 Carbon Fiber Seats | Developed inserts (covers and foam). |
| 997 Folding Carbon Fiber Seats | Developed inserts (covers and foam). |
| 991 LWB Carbon Fiber Seats Foam | 7-month development. |
| Custom Tartan Fabrics | Introduced “P1Custom Yellow” and “P1Custom Red”. |
| Memory Foam for 991 LWB Seats | Introduced due to customer feedback for increased comfort. |
| Recaro Pole Position Seats | Developed inserts (covers and foam). |
| Integrated Inflatable Lumbar Support | Collaborative effort with a customer; 3-month development. |
| Carrera GT Carbon Fiber Seats | Developed seat inserts. |
| Porsche® Speedster Seat Inserts | Developed seat inserts. |
How Do P1 Designs Work?
Basically, P1 Designs has a ton of different seat options for you to choose from. They are all tailored to slightly different wants, needs, body shapes, and aesthetic styles.
Since any Porsche with a carbon fiber bucket seat has interior seats that are basically velcroed into place, it’s easy enough to remove the stock seats and replace them with your brand-new P1 Designs seats, much like the 991 GT3 RS I covered a few years ago.
The seat types that can have the inserts replaced by P1 Designs include the following:
- Porsche 992, 991, 997, and 981/718 with folding carbon fiber bucket seats
- Porsche Speedster and 918 Spyders with carbon fiber bucket seats
- Porsches with Recaro Pole Position Seats
It also means you can very easily try out a bunch of seats to see which you might prefer (under the right circumstances). According to P1 Designs, it’ll take somewhere between 5 and 15 minutes to swap your new seats into your car, which is pretty damn speedy, if we are being honest.
Suppose you had to completely remove the seat entirely and swap it for brand new ones (as would be the case if they weren’t velcroed in) it could take hours. It is quick and easy to do, and the benefits are seen and felt immediately.
How Much Do Porsche P1 Seats Cost?
You might assume that Porsche P1 Designs seats are going to cost an arm and a leg, as is often the case with anything even tangentially related to Porsche.
However, they are (at least in our opinion) exceedingly reasonable. They range from $995 to $1,395 for a set of two front seat inserts plus the cost of whatever add-ons you’d like. It’s easier to understand the costs if I put them in a table, so I’ve done just that:
Table
| Seat Type/Option | Description | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Porsche 992, 991 & 981/718 LWBs and 997 Folding Carbon Fiber Seat Types | Standard option: Houndstooth pattern (100% polyester). Differentiated from Pepita (90% wool / 10% nylon). Pattern differences viewable in “Fabrics” section. | $1,295 |
| Porsche Speedster/918 Spyder Seat Type | Includes standard Houndstooth pattern material. | $1,395 |
| Recaro Pole Position Seat Type | Includes standard Houndstooth pattern material. | $995 |
| Fabric Upgrade Options | ||
| Tartan | Wide variety of fabrics to match car combinations. Material: wool or wool blend (depends on pattern). | + $150 – $200 |
| Sport-Tex | Modern, durable, breathable material. Variety of patterns & colors available in the Fabric Selections section. | + $150 – $300 |
| Pasha | Iconic retro pattern fabric. Available in black & white, blue & black, dark red & off-white. Material: plush, short pile velour. | + $300 |
| Alcantara | Scarce due to automotive manufacturer demands. Sourcing all colors from the only U.S. distributor. | + $300 |
| Pepita | Sourced from Europe in 5 color combinations. Material: 90% wool, 10% nylon. | + $300 |
| Custom Fabrics | Personalized sourcing. Work with global fabric suppliers and acquire unique fabrics. | Call to Discuss |
| Options | ||
| Lap Belt Cutouts | Allows lap belt to pass through for a 5 or 6 point harness. Not available/required for Carrera GT or Pole Position seat types. | $25 per seat |
| Memory Foam (For LWB seats) | Adds a 3/4″ memory foam layer between foam and seat cover (both bottom cushions), and 1/2″ layer on back cushions. Enhances comfort especially on long drives. Only available for 991 & 981/718, and Speedster seats. | $250 per set of 2 seats |
| Memory Foam (For Speedster seats) | Adds a 3/4″ memory foam layer between foam and seat cover (both bottom cushions) and a 1″ contoured memory foam for enhanced lumbar support on the bottom third of the back cushion. | $250 per set of 2 seats |
| Integrated Lumbar Support | Adds an integrated, inflatable lumbar support to the LWB seatback. Includes an adjustable inflation device for personal comfort. Only available for the 991 & 981/718 seat types. | $200 Driver/$350 both |
From when you place your order to when you can actually clip them into your car, you are looking at about four weeks for manufacturing and shipping worldwide.
As far as we know, shipping is not included in the price, but I went through the checkout, and to get it shipped to California, it was around $40.
Do Porsche P1 Seats Improve Vehicle Performance?
While Porsche P1 Designs seats don’t directly improve engine performance, they do have some very real benefits.
Firstly, they are pretty light. And, in some cases, they are even lighter than the stock Porsche seats, so you may squeeze a little bit more power out of your engine due to a slightly decreased vehicle weight.
More realistically, the biggest benefit comes from having a more comfortable (and don’t forget stylish!) seat.
Being more comfortable, better supported, and better positioned while you are driving will improve your own driving performance, even if it isn’t coming directly from the engine or transmission.
The biggest benefit in my eyes, is that you get to customize your seats to something you love. Improving the appeal of your own Porsche just makes it a bit more special.
Our Verdict On Porsche P1 Designs
To wrap things up, P1 Designs does a great job of offering aftermarket interior seating options that don’t cost an arm and a leg.
This is not to say that Porsche doesn’t do a good job with their stock seats; they do. But they do tend to miss the mark for some people.
If you are in the market for a sports car that comes with easy-to-change customizable seats, it is no surprise that people will want to go out of their way to make some changes, and P1 Designs makes it an easy process.
It’s a preference thing. Not a slight against Porsche. Thanks for reading, and we will be sure to see you back here again soon. Cheers.
