Hey all,
I finally got to see the Recaro seats in person today. My dealer called to let me know they had just received a car equipped with them. As they brought the Coupe up for me to take a look at, my MA remarked how great they were to sit in. I spent a few minutes in them and here's my impression:
-Beautiful to look at, lovely details, stitching, embossed JCW logo.
-Side bolsters are larger, but not so much as to make getting in them difficult.
-Sitting in them reminded me of the sport seats in a BMW, only better.
-Lower seat cushion is longer, felt really great under the legs(keep in mind I'm 6'5").
-Really nice support around the shoulder area, headrests are really great as well.
-Very comfortable, great support.
-They will match up perfectly with the JCW steering wheel in Alcantera.

Can't wait to eventually try these out when my Roadster finally arrives...

-Steven

Here's the pics.(cell phone)

 

Thanks for the report.

I have not seen the Recaros in person but I ordered them for my JCW Roadster. I have the JCW leather dash as well as the Alcantara Steering wheel ordered for my Roadster as well.

Can't wait!

 

That combination is going to be amazing You will love these seats. When I was configuring my Roadster, I felt I would regret not getting them. After seeing/sitting in them, I'm glad I did

 

I wonder if these will fit into my R53? Should be a nice compliment with my 2009+ JCW Brembo Sports Brake Kit.

I'm going to ask the same request with our new MINI of Burlington dealer tomorrow, who just opened on Wednesday. I think the owner ordered a JCW Coupé with these.

I was building a new MINI online and they are available on the base models, pretty kewl. Boy did I wish they had these available in 2006 when I ordered new.

Thank you for the photos!

 

Bluetoy. I had a feeling you would love them.

 

You were soooo right

 

How about adjustments? I'm sure it has lumbar (can you confirm) but do the side or seat bolsters adjust? Any other adjustments like elevation or seat rake?

 

Good point Julien, I should have mentioned that. They operate just like all Mini seats. Same up/down lever. Rake is adjustable, lumbar is as well. The lumbar adjustment **** can be seen in the first pic. You cannot adjust the side bolsters. Hope this helps

 

Steven, Which dealer?

 

Hi John. Patrick Mini Schaumburg (Chicago)

-Steven

 

How's the visibility rearward over the shoulders (left in particular)? Might the padding to the right and left of the headrest block "the view"?

 

Thanks a lot Steven.

 

Visibility is not a problem, the shoulder support is just that, right behind the shoulder. You can see in this Roadster photo that they sit below the sightline.

 

Just read in the Coupe forum that they are not doing the recaro seat option anymore on the R58 and R59. Lucky the few who have them.

 

MotoringFile has just posted an article on this and claims that the holdup is likely for April production only.

http://goo.gl/0XHa3

 

Thanks colea,
That looks like good news in that it will most likely be a retrofit and not a recall. Hopefully, the seats will be available again soon, and those who have them will get an easy fix.


-Steven

 

:( My Roadster S just completed production this past week, and I ordered Recaro seats to go with it.
Doesn't this mean that my stand-alone post for the seatbelt won't have the said design tweaks?

 

Most likely not. I would assume Mini will have a retrofit coming to take care of it. Not many answers right now

 

I sat in the Recaro seats last night in a Coupe and they are NICE!!! One thing that I did notice on the Coupe and the Roadster is that I can't recline the seat as much as I would like. I don't drive with the seats that far back doing the lean or anything but I have long arms and the Coupe and Roadster don't allow me to recline as much as I would like to and moving the seat forward to be able to recline the seat is not an option as I also have long legs. I will have to try some other options.

Overall I LOVED the Roadster but there were some kinks. The Seat position. The manual top was harder to shut than I had expected! I have long arms and it was a challenge to reach it and get it closed but I only tried once. One thing that I did not mind was the headroom, it was great with the top up and down but I did hit my head getting into and out of the car like I did when I sat in the Coupe at launch.

Decisions decisions decisions!

 

Good info., thanks

-Steven

 

That kind of figures, Patricks are usually up on their game. Maria is sold me my JCW two years ago. She's sharp on Mini's.

 

Saw these a couple weeks ago and they are awesome. Retrofiting them isn't going to be a problem, I think the cost will the the issue.

 

They are just replacement cushions and covers that go on a standard seat frame.

http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...95&hg=52&fg=10

 

I cancelled the Recaro option that I had ordered on my new Roadster as the delay in getting the seats back into production this summer meant it would have delayed the car and cost me a lot extra.

So just this week I have had a quote of GBP 2100 from a UK Mini dealer for all the foam and upholstery to do the swap. If British sales tax is deducted, that converts to USD 2800.

For us, that is a bit more than adding them as an option, but not by much. For you, I think that is the option price - though you may get powered Recaros whereas we only get manual ones.

I'm pondering over doing this, as when I come to sell the car, I can probably put the stock seat upholstery back and sell on the Recaro upholstery for maybe half what it cost.

 

The US spec factory Recaros are **** but the factory euro JCW Recaros would be better money spent for $2800.