Porsche 911 Spirit 70 Heritage Design Edition Brings Back The World's Best Seat Fabric And Hood Stripes

Following the 911 Targa 4S Heritage Design Edition that was inspired by the 1950s and the 911 Sport Classic that was inspired by the '60s, each with special styling cues taken from Porsches of those eras, the company has unveiled its third Heritage Design model at the Shanghai Auto Show, and it's easily the wildest one yet. Using the hybrid Carrera GTS cabriolet as its basis, the new 911 Spirit 70 harks back to, you guessed it, the 1970s, reviving a fabric pattern that may well be the greatest thing ever applied to a car seat.

Porsche is only going to make 1,500 of these 911 Spirit 70 editions worldwide, with the convertible set to reach the U.S. in late summer of this year. It won't be cheap — the Spirit 70 is priced at $242,250 including destination, which is $57,000 more then a standard rear-wheel-drive GTS cabrio. You'll have to pay extra if you want the matching Porsche Design watch, too.

Porsche developed a new color for the Spirit 70 called Olive Neo, though you can get Black paint for no cost, GT Silver for $830, or select anything from the Paint to Sample catalog. I think the olive green looks awesome, but it definitely won't be to everyone's tastes. The Spirit 70 shares its excellent center-lock Fuch-style wheel design with the Sport Classic, but here they're painted in Bronzite, a nice muted gold that's also found in a satin finish on the front bumper and rear diffuser. Both the windshield frame and convertible top are finished in black.

The Spirit 70 is offered with an excellent graphics package that brings back a super rare option from the 1970s. A trio of matte black stripes runs down the hood, spelling out 911 in the lower half. On the older cars it was pitched as an anti-glare solution, and 911s that got the stripes had no hood badge (the hood wasn't even drilled for it), but on the Spirit 70 the car still has a Porsche crest in the hood — though it uses the crest design from 1963. There are also side stripes that spell out Porsche, and you can additionally get a "lollipop" on the doors with the racing number of your choice. Go for the no-cost stripes and they extend onto the fabric roof, too. Bringing it all together are special gold-plated badges and a round Porsche Heritage badge on the decklid.

It gets really psychedelic on the inside. Where the Heritage Design Targa had corduroy seats and the Sport Classic got houndstooth-like Pepita, the Spirit 70 marks the return of the Pasha fabric that Porsche offered on the 924, 928 and 911 back in the '70s and early '80s. The design is meant to look like a checkered flag waving in the wind, but to me it's more reminiscent of one of those magic eye pictures. It freakin' rules, and I've been dying for Porsche to bring it back. For the new car, instead of using velour like the old models, the upholstery is made from a combination of flock yarn and textile, and it's paired with Basalt Black Club leather.

As standard the Pasha fabric is place in the seat centers, door panels and the interior of the glovebox, but for no extra cost you can get Pasha inlays on the dashboard trim and seat backs. There's also a reversible frunk cargo mat made from the stuff. You can get the Pasha in a Black/Dark Silver color scheme, but I don't know why you would when you can also get it in Black/Olive Neo, complete with contrasting Olive Neo stitching. If you're really boring you can get the interior with no Pasha at all, but I don't know why you would do that. Regardless of the interior spec you choose, the digital gauge cluster has retro green digits and white pointers.

As with the previous Heritage Design models, there aren't many other standalone options to choose from. It does seem pretty ridiculous that Porsche still charges extra for a nicer sound system, adaptive cruise control and a front-axle lift on a special edition that already costs so much, but hey, Porsche's gonna Porsche. Other options include carbon-ceramic brakes, the Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control system, an extended-range fuel tank, and cosmetic things like clear taillights and color-matched mirror bases.

If the Spirit 70's price is too rich for your blood, or you're not a fan of all of the design choices, don't fret. Like it did with the corduroy and Pepita, Porsche has also introduced a Heritage Design Interior package for other 911 variants that gets you the greyscale Pasha upholstery on the seats and door panels, the green gauge dials, special floor mats, a silver 911 dashboard badge, and a bunch of other cosmetic items like additional leather trim pieces. The package is offered on the Carrera, Carrera S and Carrera GTS, costing between $12,980 and $8,840 depending. Hopefully Porsche releases additional colors for it — the classic black and white would really go hard.

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