Cabrio rear seat delete
 

Has anyone completed a rear seat delete on the convertibles? It seems like a great idea, but I was not sure how this would look with the convertible top down or if even possible.

​​​​​​You can get a general sense of how it would look if you remove the rear seat backs and bottom. Takes less than 10 minutes.

Im sure it can be done, but what is the motivation?

If its performance based it makes way more sense to start with something other than an R52 as its already heavily compromised for weight and stiffness compared to the non verts.

Im probably biased as one reason to have an R52 instead of say a Miata is that If I have to I can at least cram 2 kids in the car, which wouldnt be an option without the rear seat. Mind you, you cant deploy the wind blocker with rear seat passengers present so maybe its for the best...

Surely only a sadist would PLAN to make anyone ride in the back seat of an R52;) It tends to only happen when our other plans break down:)

Go for it, its not like a rear seat delete can make it appreciably louder or anything anyway!

We drove 300+ miles each way with me, my wife, and two sons in my R52 over Christmas. It's not that bad depending on one's size.

Both my sons are taller than me. I sat in the back a lot of the way. My wife sat behind the driver as she has the shortest legs.

Fair enough. My wife and I are both near 6', and my shortest kid is probably 5'6" and growing. No chance to sit behind with me driving if I want to be able to change gear. We can fit two kids in if we push the passenger seat up as far as possible, but there is no way we are going 300 miles like that!

Yeah, I only got the MINI instead of a Miata so that we could do this in a pinch. We're nearly empty nesters, so this won't happen a lot. My wife has a Leaf, so no long trips in that.

We're about 5'6" (wife), 5'9½" (me), 5'11" & 6'1" (sons.) My taller son could drive without his knees banging the wheel with just enough room for me or my wife to sit behind him.

I like the idea of a rear seat delete, once the boys are both moved out. That would be fantastic for the dog if it was designed well. The MINI is about 6" longer than a Miata, but would have more than 10x the luggage capacity.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...989ca06468.jpg
Dogs love MINIs

Lots of guys did this at track days with there r52 or to haul the dogs and i have seen people put a homemade carpet insert in there so its flat.

There is a Seat Delete that replaces the lower portion of the rears, but I'm unsure about the backing ...

https://www.outmotoring.com/mini_coo...e-clubman.html

With the seat backs gone there is the big pass through to the rear trunk... and you need to be careful if you have things floating around back there, you don't want to mess with the contact switches (used to let the car know the position of the top).

Best of luck.

Motor On!

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...24957c3cb.jpeg
Dog here fully agrees with your comment

Two more paws up:)

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...964016a99b.jpg

I made my own:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ml#post4230828
(It should direct link to post #9)

I'm also 6', and with my seat where it needs to be, the R52 is basically a 3 seater.

I love this. I've had the same 2005 R50 since new, and I removed the rear seats for performance, and had a custom dog bed made for our furry child. If I had a R52 (and I've considered it), I would similarly want to delete the rear seats to "add lightness," and to add practicality (especially for our dog, Frankie). Same reason I want a 911 over a Cayman or a Boxter.

Dont forget that in soft top there are interlocks and proximity switches to prevent the top operating if the rear parcel shelf isnt seen as present and correct in the lower of the two positions. Removing the rear seats may also expose your furry passenger to being in the way of opening / closing the roof safely.

Doesn't removing the rear seat and back also remove the important safety factor of having built-in roll bars?

No, the rollover bars are independent of the seats.