Has anyone imported a set of the OEM JCW Sparco Seats from Europe to the USA? I am currently doing an OEM+ build on my R53 and I was looking for a set. I know these are super hard to come by but I wanted input before I start looking for a set.

 

They are fairly common on ebay.co.uk

Seats are hard to ship due to size and weight but some sellers will.

 

 

NECRO-Bump



Are these the OEM, Factory-MINI. Sparco seats?

Did they ever MAKE it to this side of the pond?

Airbags??















.

 

Yep, those are them.

Nope, don't think they ever made it over.

Here's some cloth ones in Germany for sale at the moment:

https://www.ebay.de/itm/Mini-Cooper-...gAAOSwOb5fKEnd

:



The leather ones have the more subtle JCW imprint:





They also had a Recaro option over there...

 

Those seats don't look like factory JCW Sparco seats, but they may be the same model Sparco with aftermarket upholstery and JCW stitching to replicate them.

The Factory Sparco JCW's have a different cushion pattern and black trim in the headrest area. The thin center cushion section in black, below the JCW logo, doesn't exist on the factory version, and the red area should have more defined sections, unless they're not showing up in the photo. Also, the JCW logo on all factory JCW seats I've seen never had embroidered JCW logos when on leather. They've only been embossed on leather or embroidered on fabric/alcantara.

The Sparco's didn't have airbags, but the 1st gen Recaro's and the 2nd gen Recaro Sportster JCW's did. One of the reasons these Recaro's weren't available in the US, at least after 2004, was because the Recaro's didn't have the passenger occupancy sensor in the seat cushion. This sensor is also why the bottom cushion on the US lounge leather seats was flat instead of pleated.

The Sparco's, 1st gen Recaro's, and 2nd gen Sportster JCW's were not available in the US from MINI, but have been imported by some owner's. MINI also had matching back seats available for these seats. An interesting note on the 2nd gen Recaro Sportster's is they were available with both the new and old JCW logos.


edit: The pics in Oldboy Speedwell's post above shows what an Factory JCW Sparco looks like, the different JCW logos depending on fabric, and the matching back seats.