It may seem a rather odd pairing on the surface, but the combination German cars and Scottish tartan cloth upholstery has become as natural as peanut butter and jelly, and just as tasteful.
We take leather interiors for granted on most modern vehicles, especially high-end European vehicles. But in the early days of motoring, the material we associate with luxury today was considered suitable only for chauffeurs and those poor souls who had to drive their own cars. True luxury meant sitting on fine velours and other cloth upholstery.
Automobile interiors often resembled living room furnishings back then. Somber colors and simple patterns conveyed good taste, and they were easy to work with on a large, mass-production scale. But they were also more than a little uninspiring. Especially for a race car.
By the early 1950s, as racing became a major spectator sport, racing stripes became a way for fans to quickly differentiate between drivers. By the time Mercedes-Benz returned to motorsport in 1952 with its W 194 competition coupe, stripes were a part of the shorthand of racing.
It may come as no surprise, then, that the first notable appearance of plaid upholstery came with the introduction of the Mercedes-Benz 300SL, the roadgoing production evolution of the W 194 race car that debuted in 1954.
While many of these classic Gullwing models were outfitted with optional leather upholstery, three wool-based tartan cloth patterns constituted the standard offering. The reason for cloth was likely practical, as the cockpits were notoriously warm and the wool would have certainly breathed better than leather.
But the choice of pattern likely tied back to the model’s motorsport heritage and the desire to place racing stripes, in some form, tastefully within the driver’s environment. Why not tartan? Officially offered grey/green, cream/red or grey/blue, the subtle splash of color (flamboyant by conservative German standards) added a touch of respectable mischief to the elegant, if business-like, SL cockpit.
Tartans made a bigger splash in the 1970s when Volkswagen and Porsche stepped onto the plaid scene. Early ’70s VW T2 buses with Westphalia conversions were outfitted in Brady Bunch-fantastic weaves that included oranges, golds, and greens. But it was the Golf GTI and the Scirocco coupe that really returned tartan cloth to its sporting roots.
The decision to go with a sporting plaid for the GTI (called ‘Clark’) came from VW interior designer Gunhild Liljequist. She recalls, “Black was sporty, but I also wanted color and quality. I took a lot of inspiration from my travels around Great Britain and I was always taken by high-quality fabrics with checked patterns.” You can also thank her for the golf ball shift knob.
Porsche used plaid cloth in several lower-end models, including the 914 and its eventual replacement, the 924. But tartan also went high-end with the 1976 930. Plaid was, in fact, just one of many cloth designs offered by Porsche over the years, including Pepita and the trippy Pasha.
In recent years, plaid has enjoyed a renaissance, having become a differentiator on sporty models from VW. The fifth-genration GTI kicked it off in 2005 with a new design that used the classic black, white and red (called ‘Jacky’).
Merecedes-Benz Classic has reintroduced all three colors of the original 300 SL plaid cloth as material by the yard for the restoration market, offering collectors of these highly desirable early models the opportunity to restore to original factory spec, right down to the same dying methods and original wool thread makers.
Porsche is offering its classic plaid cloths to new vehicle buyers as part of the Porsche Exclusive program, allowing you to build out a brand-new 911 with a throwback appeal.
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