I am in the process of procuring a 2009 C4S, and it has the optional Sport Seats with the really high side bolsters. I will not be tracking the car, but I like to play in the curves when available. The car is predominantly a commuter. If I wanted a racer, the RS is a much better choice i suppose. Are these seats uncomfortable, hard to get in and out of, suffer side-bolster damage, and are they adjustable? Thanks much for your input.

 

What color is the interior? I have the regular carrera seats, but love the sports seats. I'd trade you if they're black.

 

Yes they are black. What condition are yours? How many miles, and what year car are they from? These have 15K miles on them and look perfect. What options are on your seats? Full leather? These are. I haven't as yet sat in them. I will PM you if I want to take you up on your offer. Thanks for the reply. Anyone else out there with an opinion on them?

 

Mine's an 05, I have 20K on the car, the seats have everything I believe (lumbar/power/etc). I'll take a few pictures when I get home. I don't think they changed the seats in 997s. Great condition.

 

There were TWO Sport Seat options on the 997: Sports Seat (had manual lift and forward adjustment levers) and Adaptive Sports Seat (had power everything including lumbar support, which is not included in the manual Sports Seat). The manual Sports Seat came with leather seating surfaces but the rest of the seat was NOT leather unless specified in the original order leather interior. The Adaptive Sport Seat came with leather standard and was a $3200 option (!!). Manual Sport Seat was an $800 option. So BIG difference in price. I have the Adaptive Sport Seat in my car and if I had to do it all over again, I would opt for the manual Sports Seat since I have a small frame, do not have any back issues and do not need all the bells and whistles. I DO prefer the Sport Seats to the regular seats for comfort, support, and lateral acceleration. Unless you have large shoulders and large frame I think you will really like the Sports Seat. Best to drive it and see for yourself...............

 

Actually there is a THIRD sport seat - the "sports bucket" and that appears to be what OP has. Since his car is an '09 C4S it sure sounds like the launch edition which has the sport buckets. That's the seat that any "track rat" would want to have in his car! I have the A.S.S. seats in mine and every time I'm on the track I wish I'd gotten the sport buckets. But I'm not sure how practical they'd be for a daily driver. My g/f complains about my present seats - she'd HATE the sport buckets.

DMoore
'11 GTS
'10 P4S

 

i have the full leather adaptive sports seats... really love the support and feel of the bolsters... but like stated above you have to feel it yourself. Depending on your size and frame ...might be a tight feel for you. I also love the look of them much more so than the standard seat....the curves and bolsters look awesome and very sporty... but the main thing in my opinion is the lumbar support ...thats a must have!

 

Uh, so you're buying a car and you've never even sat in the seats? Maybe you'll want to sit in them first. Basically, the sport adaptives are quite narrow in the thighs, the side bolsters are not an issue. Anyway, try them before you buy them...

 

I wish I had the luxury of actually sitting in them, but they are on the other side of the country from me. I have never even seen another set of these (manually adjusted sport/racing seat option) in another Porsche, so hence the query to the forum. I am 5'10", 185#, and narrow at the hips. My guess is that I should fit okay, more of a question as to whether I will destroy the lower exterior bolsters getting in and out of the car, and whether the padding and lack of adjustment is unacceptable for anything other than the track. I ride an 1198SP Ducati superbike, and if you are familiar with the bike, seat padding is minimal to say the least. I put out this thread trying to gather a general consensus among the more experienced members of our forum as to these questions. Thanks all for your help and advise.

 

I am fairly sure the adaptive sport seats would be just fine. These are manual sport seats with the MUCH taller and pronounced bolsters on the upright sides and the cushion sides. Very much different from the adaptive sport seat. They remind me of the Recaro and Sparco race seats. No Porsche I have ever seen has had these.

 

It sure sounds to me like you have the sport bucket seats. Do they have slots in the thigh bolsters for the seat belt to pass through? If so - that's what they are. I've sat in them and like them. They're a problem if you're tall (I'm 6-1) because there is no tilt adjustment whatever to the back rest, nor is there an up/down adjustment. Forward/back, that's it, although I think (not certain) the seat can be remounted to make it slightly higher.

Is the 4S you're looking at a dark gray color? PDK? If so, it's the launch version of the '09 C4S and just about every Porsche dealer got one. Your local dealer might be able to find one for you to check out. The same seat is pretty common in the GT3 as well.

DMoore
'11 GTS
'10 Panamera 4S

 

Thanks DMoore, I have heard this description a few times now "launch version". It does indeed have the SC+, PDK, and is meteor grey. Were there other bits they all came with? Were they designed/marketed to be particularly adept at launch starts? Not exactly Porsche's forte. In response to the seats, it does appear to have the sports buckets, and even if I end up not liking them, they seem to be popular with the "track rats" and maybe I can trade them for a set of Sport Adaptive seats. For a street car such as a 4S, they come across as a rather "severe" seat for daily use, and far more appropriate for a GT3/RS. Who know what Porsche was thinking when it came to making up a whole batch of these! Thanks again for the info.

 

I have adaptive sport seats....very comfortable. I like the adjustability. I drove long hours from Miami to Seattle where I picked up my car. I use my car as a daily driver and take my car out on PCA events.

 

HarmonyJim:

The "launch" edition refers to the first version of a new model that was sent to the dealers - launching the new model - not referring to "launching" from a stoplight!

In 2009 there were at least two different launch models. The C2S PDK was green with tan interior, PDK, sport chrono, no nav but heated seats and steering wheel. (?) I had one. The C4S launch car for the PDK was the car you've described. At the time everyone wondered what Porsche was thinking by putting the sport bucket seats into a car that didn't really seem to be track oriented. I suspect a fair number of those sport buckets have been traded out to the trackies for seats that are more adaptable to daily use. Apart from the meteor grey paint, black sport buckets, PDK and sport chrono, I'm not sure what other equipment they had.

DMoore
'11 GTS
'10 Panamera 4S

 

do they have carbon fiber backs? = sport buckets