MarkS

Forgive my ignorance but is Alcantara a different kind of leather or is it a cloth material? I noticed that the 2000 S4 will have an option for a "Leather/Alcantara" interior trim. What does that mean?

Cameron

Just like leatherette is fake leather this is some type of fake suede.<br>

Stu Koch

Alcantara / Leather means that the seats are two-tone (blue on grey, red on black, etc) Here is the description from www.audi.de.<p>"Of course the Audi S4 comes with sports seats. Their lumbar support and lateral<br>grip in curves provide the basis for comfort and ergonomically correct posture.<br>Since the S4 appeals to the senses as much as the intellect, you'll be glad to<br>know you can have the seats covered with exclusive Alcantara and silk napa<br>leather. And not only the seats, but the door trim, headrests and armrests as well.<br>The exceptional quality of the materials and harmony of coordinated colours<br>makes the S4 interior a feast for the senses. See it. Feel it. Drive it. "<p>Stu Koch<br>99 2.8 qts

Cameron

nt<br>

cll

Makes sense. Capital letter &quot;A&quot; suggests trademark, which suggests man-made.

Todd C

Alcantara is actually a faux suede.<p>Todd C

GMM

Alcantara is actually a synthetic material manufactured by Alcantara S.P.A. an Italian firm. It is a synthetic material that feels like suede but does not suffer from the same maintenance issues (you know what I am talking about if you have ever owned a suede jacket) such as staining when water gets on it, surface getting ruined by use, etc. Its pretty popular in europe as an alternative to leather seats as it is slightly cheaper usually but still has a nice feel to it. When I lived in Italy a few of my friends had Alcantara as their interior, it feels pretty good, keeps you planted in the hard turns, and it easy to clean. I still am undecided though if I would want it in the S4 as a combo to the leather or just go with the all leather, I don't like the neon blue with the black leather look too much.

MarkS

I don't really like the Black/Blue combo, but the Black/Silver is pretty sharp in the pictures anyway. If it is cheaper than the all leather package, I think it might be worth getting. If not, I'll probably stick with all leather.<p>Thanks again everyone )

Ali B

Having owned a 1989 Maserati 228 (biturbo) that had Alcantara on the door panels, top of dash and the headliner, I would suggest that people go with leather on the seating surfaces. I think it is really nice to have Alcantara (feels just like suede) in places like the headliner and door panels, the seating surfaces with heavy usage are a different story. I have seen several Maserati Spider biturbos that have Alcantara inserts on the sides of the seat (as opposed to the center portion on the S4 seats), and the material hadn't held up too well. I also don't care for the black/blue combo on the S4 seats.