Seating technology is always evolving – this is equal for both road and race cars. The soft trim crew is therefore constantly working on the further development of the SPACER. Sometimes that leads to unconventional paths in the areas of application.

For example, the path to motorsport begins with amateur sector. Track days and club sport events offer ambitious drivers the opportunity to test the limits of their own sports car on the racetrack. The ambitions are usually just as high as with professionals, but in terms of equipment there are major differences to racing. Sports cars for the road often differ greatly from their racetrack counterparts.

“We are seeing an increasing interest in hypercars,” explains Sascha Taubert, who is responsible for motorsport activities at soft trim. “The demand for road-going sports cars that also achieve high performance on the racetrack is increasing. The owners often take part in track days, receive coaching and run professional data evaluation. So, there are many parallels to professional racing.”

Club sport experts like Porsche Zentrum 5 Seen have recognized this. The company from Gliching near Munich commissioned soft trim with the production of a proven racing seat insert for a road-legal full bucket seat. With more than 40 years of experience in motorsport and up to 15 customer events for road and race cars on tracks throughout Europe, the Bavarians are among the leading companies in the industry.

“We received the request because a driver was looking for the ideal seating position for the racetrack in her production car. It quickly became clear to us that we could help with the SPACER – especially when riding with a helmet and HANS system,” Sascha Taubert looks back.

The SPACER was adapted for use in Porsche’s lightweight full bucket seat made of carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic. This is were the many years of motorsport experience came into play here: the fully integrable seat shell was designed and manufactured within a few weeks by means of a driver’s seat test – the so-called ‘fitting’ – 3D scanning and precise measurement of the original seat.

The result was the most uncomplicated way of integrating a real racing seat into a production car. If you go to the racetrack for a track day, all you have to do is replace the original inserts with your SPACER. The fully customised seat is ready for use, for a perfect day at the racetrack.

After using the shell for the first time on the circuit, Sascha Taubert’s conclusion was positive: “It was a great opportunity for us to test the SPACER under new conditions,” he says. “Especially since it confirmed that we are on the right track with our development for motorsport. Nowhere else are the demands on people and material so high.”