Z356

I took photos this week of a just arrived 2014 991 'Anthracite Brown Metallic' C4S at my local dealership - Porsche of Monterey (CA) - that was ordered with the new dual tone 'Espresso/Cognac' full leather interior. Both of these materials are 'Natural/Special' premium leather and it cost US$5,630. As part of the dual tone package, you get deviating stitching (Cognac) on the dash, top of doors and top of rear coupe panels.

To put the price of this option in perspective, please know that the dual tone 'Black/Luxor Beige', which doesn't provide a Natural/Special leather content, costs $4,120. But it includes the same type of deviating stitching in the same panels. So the additional charge for 'Natural/Special' leather is $1,510.

The full leather non-dual tone 'Espresso', for example, costs $5,200. So the additional charge for dual tone 'Espresso/Cognac' and the deviating stitching (at $5,630) is only $430!

A full leather non-dual tone 'Luxor Beige' interior costs only $3,690. But, you must take into consideration the following:

a) 'Luxor Beige' is not as rich of a color as 'Cognac' for the seats and side panels.

b) The dash in a light color like 'Luxor Beige' provides glare on the front windshield. This is one of the biggest negatives for the lighter color interiors and one of the biggest advantages of all dual-tone packages!

c) Any deviating stitching would have to be paid for as an extra. The dual-tone packages include $1170 of deviating stitching at no extra charge in a coupe and $780 in a cab. Otherwise it would be $390 each for dash, top of the doors and to top of rear panel (coupe only).

d) The standard offerings (Luxor Beige, Black, etc) are not the premium Semi-Aniline 'Natural' type leather. The latter is dyed exclusively with soluble dyes without covering the surface with a topcoat paint or insoluble pigments. The resulting product retains the hide's natural surface with the 'grain', i.e. visible pores, scars etc. of the complete original animal's skin structure. For automotive use, the natural leather has a thin top coat added (thus semi-aniline) to protect it from wear and staining. I also think that the semi-aniline full leather interiors have a deeper scent of leather 'fragrance' which might add to its appeal!

When you identify all of the advantages of these dual packages offered by Porsche, especially this latest 'Espresso/Cognac' natural leather option, you come to appreciate why some (like me) think that $5,630 for this option is a 'best buy'! Besides, it is the closest interior we get in the 991 to the old 'Natural Brown Leather' option which was offered in the 997. 'Natural Brown' was my old favorite in a Porsche interior. But now I think this 'Espresso/Cognac' dual tone is perhaps even a better proposition!

Saludos,
Eduardo
Carmel

PS The only other thing I would consider when ordering the dual tone 'Espresso/Cognac' package is the addition of 'carpeting in a deviating color'. This is approx. a $800 cost extra. I would select a dark carpeting - Espresso, Agate or Black - to highlight the 'Cognac' leather seating & side panels of the interior cabin. It is also easier to keep 'clean'.

More photos are included on Post #216 at the following thread "Custom Ordering a 991, 'Porsche Exclusive' and You":

https://rennlist.com/forums/991/7085...l#post10987268

peterm

thats an awful lot of cash for something that deosnt appear really nicer than the OEM beige leather- one advantace is that the dash in beige uis highly reflective and I find that quite disturbing but for 5600 I can live w it.

SanibelSpeed

Eduardo, do you have any other photos? I think it looks really nice, though I already have similar colors in my other DD.

SanibelSpeed

PS: Was wondering if we'd hear from you again now that you've gotten an R8! Glad to see you're still lurking about!

Z356

That is why we are given choices so we can decide what to do with our money.

Attached is a photo of the 'Luxor Beige' interior on a 991 so that we can compare it with the new 'Espresso/Cognac' interior (final 3 photos). The price difference between 'Luxor Beige' full leather ($3690) and 'Espresso/Cognac' ($5630) is slightly less than $2K and with the latter you get $1170 worth of deviating stitching and the advantage of premium semi-aniline natural leather! The dual-tone's Espresso dash also minimizes the 'reflective' glare on your windshield and provides you with a darker color steering wheel which is more practical for wear! Finally, although it is appreciated better when seen in person, the 'Cognac' leather has richer & deeper color than the paler 'Luxor Beige' leather. But none of this might be of importance to some of you and thus the availability of less expensive choice interiors on the 991's!

Saludos,
Eduardo
Carmel

Z356

More photos were posted at the other thread mentioned in my post. But I have added the photos in these last two posts just in case you haven't used the link I provided!

"Custom Ordering a 991, 'Porsche Exclusive' and You":
https://rennlist.com/forums/991/7085...nd-you-15.html

Yes, I am still lurking around and I will eventually get back on a modern Porsche. I have been a Porsche follower since I was 22 years old back in 1973, so it's hard to shake the addiction! Besides, Rennlist is one of the best enthusiast's forum in the internet and has some of the most knowledgeable members on the planet! I learn something new here every single day!

Saludos,
Eduardo

MarcusG

Eduardo. I agree on the carpet.

I think this interior is very pretty though. The light colors really show off all the details of the 991 interior.

I'd be afraid to drive the car with my dress shoes on. Would want to drive it with no shoes! That light carpet gets so dirty so quickly. My Escalade had that same color cashmere interior and even though I was so careful that carpet always became so dirty so quickly.

Otherwise, if you want that those colors you have got to go for it. It looks nice.

Dyim

When you get deviating carpet, the carpet at the back seats will match the floor carpet, correct?

IMHO, I think that might look a bit funny with dark carpet between the lighter seat backs and cushions. Or no?

Curious to see pics of such combo.

I have black/ Luxor and I just threw on black rubber mats.

WCE

I agree best interior combo. As the owner of a 991 with off-white "pebble" carpets, I'd also agree ordering deviating carpets in the darker tone, expresso in this case, makes sense. You would also get expresso mats standard which would match. The one gotcha might be the fuse covers which seem to generally match the carpets, although Porsche would probably stubbornly supply them in Cognac - it looks like the car you photographed had one cognac and one dark cover!

Z356

Deviating carpet on certain lighter leather interior (e.g. 'Cognac', 'Natural Brown' or 'Carrera Red') would look pretty good in my eyes. The first two photos attached are of 'Carrera Red' Seats with a Black carpeting. The combination is very striking!

The next two photos show 991's that have been ordered with deviating stitching - 'Luxor Beige' with deviating Black carpeting, 'Luxor Beige' with deviating Blue carpeting. Sorry that they do not show the carpeting with the rear seats. 'Luxor Beige' is different from the darker colors interiors - 'Cognac', 'Natural Brown' or 'Carrera Red'. So the lighter, paler 'Luxor Beige' with deviating Black carpeting might not be the best combo for some.

The fourth photo shows a 997 with the beautiful 'Natural Brown' full leather interior and deviating carpeting in Black. This photo helps demonstrate why I am such a big fan of 'Natural Brown' leather interior in a 911! It is so...rich!


Looks like both the 'Luxor Beige' leather interior vehicle and the dual-tone 'Espresso/Cognac' leather interior have dark fuse covers each. That is a blessing for those ordering deviating carpeting in 'Black' or 'Espresso' with those particular interiors. With the standard lighter carpeting in either ('Luxor' or 'Espresso/Cognac'), you can request the driver's side fuse cover to be done in your interior leather color for only an extra $380. This is all part of the 'Porsche Exclusive' program. It even includes nice decorative stitching too. Not a bad price, really! Otherwise, the regular fuse cover is just a plain dark colored plastic piece that quite frankly looks a bit out of place with the lighter color carpeting in the cabin floor.

Saludos,
Eduardo
Carmel

Dyim

^agree. That black and red looks good. Luxor and black not so much IMO.

I still like mine. Black rubber mats on Luxor!

Samp4

This is the same interior and exterior I chose for my C4sCab. I also have the Espresso carpet. I love the color and have had people rave when seeing the Luxor next to it. There is so much difference I could not consider anything but the natural leather and the colors are awesome. The leather is so much softer!! I have had it a month and love it more than I thought.

Samp4

I wish I would have gotten deviating stitching on the lower door panels. I think that would have really looked great.

apias

How would that (deviated carpet) work with the "Luggage Net in Passenger Footwell"? Would that match the carpet, or is that going to be matched to the standard lighter color?

Samp4

I was told the net is the color of the carpet. I was stupid and forgot it so don't know for sure.