The tartan upholstery It is one of those components that last in the automotive memory of most users. Although it is usually attributed directly to the Volkswagen Golf GTI, which is the model that managed to democratize it, the truth is that it had previously appeared in other, much more exclusive vehicles. He Porsche 911 Turbo He included it in his options list in 1974, which is two years before the launch of the first Golf GTI. It was so successful in 1976 that this equipment jumped to the rest of the versions of the 911…
The checkered upholstery known as tartan originates from Scotland. It is the cradle of this type of fabric in which threads of different colors are interwoven with a specific motif for each clan. It serves as identification and gives a very recognizable air, something that has also been appreciated in the world of fashion. In fact, the fact that Porsche included it in its cars is due to a beautiful coincidence. Anatole Lapinedirectly from the brand’s design, appeared one day with some tartan pants that served as inspiration for it.
Your companion Dorothea Müller-Goodwyna stylist in those years for Porsche, was in charge of obtaining the ideal fabric for this upholstery. They contacted Scottish suppliers, although doing so for a piece of clothing is not the same as for a vehicle, since the resistance must be greater. However, they found a company near Weissach that solved that problem. The people of Berger It was capable of making that tartan fabric with a quality standard typical of a Porsche.
They got to work and in 1973 they presented the Porsche 911 RSR Turbo prototype in Frankfurt. In their seats you could see the Black Watch patternthe same one with the blue, green and black colors that Lapine’s pants had worn that day. There were more configurations, as the 911 Turbo “No. 1” that was delivered to Louise Piëch featured a McLaughlin tartan (MacLachlan in Scottish) in very striking red and blue. Already in 1974 the Mackenzie tartanwith beige, red, blue, white and olive green tones.
Although it was an option on the first Porsche 911 Turbo (930), the truth is that the reception of these upholsteries was very good. So much so, that just over a year later they added it to the rest of the range. Since then, it has always been a very characteristic and timeless elementwhich has been reinterpreted on multiple occasions. The German brand continues to work on it through the Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur program.
