3D-Printed, Prototype Porsche Bucket Seats Look Dangerously Comfortable
Automotive production might be halting globally along with everything else, but innovation sure isn’t. At least, not at Porsche, which is showing off a new method for 3D-printing car seats. Instead of center cushions, Porsche’s prototype bucket seats have partially 3D-printed sections that can be manufactured to one of three firmnesses: Soft, medium, or hard.
In the racing world, car seats molded to individual drivers’ backs and butts have long been the norm, so Porsche’s 3D-printed seat cushion idea seems like a natural transfer of motorsport tech to road cars. It also perfectly fits Porsche’s desire to tailor its vehicles to the needs and desires of individual customers, now that 3D printing opens up the option to mass-produced seats for street vehicles.
For now, Porsche has conceptualized its new idea with what it is calling the “3D-printed bodyform full-bucket seat.” The printed area has a cool lattice-like structure, and is bonded to a plastic shell and covered with Porsche’s breathable Racetex mesh upholstery material. Well, not entirely covered—Porsche leaves some openings (what it calls “window panels”) open, exposing the awesome red-colored 3D-printed cushioning layer, as you can see in the close-up photo above. As mentioned, the seat’s cushioning can be constructed to deliver one of three different firmness levels, but Porsche says it’s working on expanding customization possibilities to include different colors and cushions “adapted to the individual customer’s specific body contour.”
You’ll need to wait a bit for that perk, however. Porsche is putting these 3D-printed seats out for the 911, 718 Boxster, and Cayman this summer—albeit only for use on race tracks. And Porsche Tequipment will limit their initial availability to only 40 seats, all of which will be set up for six-point safety harnesses and sold only in Europe. The rest of us will have to wait until at least mid-2021 for the tech to make its way to Porsche’s Exclusive personalization option sheet. So, uh, hold onto your butts until then?
The post 3D-Printed, Prototype Porsche Bucket Seats Look Dangerously Comfortable appeared first on Automobile Magazine.