noel.arbuthnot

If you had to ask what the best upholstery for a luxury sports car is, most people would say that it is leather. And if you had to ask what the result would be of feeding your child loads of sweets, most people would say that it would make them hyperactive.

And what do these two statements have in common? Well I think that in both cases 'most people' are wrong. This is actually quite a common problem, dating back hundreds of years. The further back you go, the more ridiculous the believed statements were. These ranged from most people believing that the earth was flat, to more recent ones such as believing that alcohol kills your brain cells, and then the one I've already mentioned about sugar turning your little angels into deranged baboons! According to scientific research, these prove to be myths.

So is it a myth that leather is the ultimate in upholstering? No, not really, as this is to a large extent opinion based. However, people in the industry as well as many car enthusiasts would disagree with what most people think. To them the ultimate upholstery is Alcantara.

If you look at top end Lamborghinis, Aston Martins, Porches, Audis and other sports car makers, they make use of this special material on seats, roof linings, dashboards, steering wheels and gear knobs.

So what's so special about Alcantara and what is it? Firstly, Alcantara is a trade name for this composite material. It is made from polyurethane and polyester in an advanced spinning process that also includes extraction, needle punching, impregnation etc. I don't know much about the technicalities of these processes, but what I do know is that the end result is impressive.

So how is this man made material better than genuine leather?

Firstly it has the look of a quality suede, feels luxurious, but is harder wearing than the leather counterpart. It is also to a large extent stain resistant, so you don't need to worry about your youngsters having a feast and playing games in the car. In summer it won't fry your bum, and in winter it won't be like sitting on an iceberg.

What makes it great for performance vehicles is that you stick to the seat, like peanut butter to your tongue. It grips your clothes and skin in a way that allows less extreme seat bolstering to keep you in place during hard cornering. It also breathes like leather which is a must for hot climates during intense driving. Normal leather is not too slippery in relation to vinyls, but in comparison to Alcantara, normal leather can feel like a slippery fried egg.

The downsides are few. Some people find it a bit irritating during long journeys where it does grip your clothes too much when you move around to get comfortable. The other downside is its cost. In most countries it is more expensive than leather, but that is not a concern when buying an Aston Martin or a Porsche!

There are some high volume car makers however that do use this desirable material in their performance models though, such as Honda, VW and Subaru. Unfortunately 'most people' don't even realize its true value and end up choosing the fried egg instead.