Carpet colour for black interior?

[Michael Ufford]

I have noticed that almost all cars with a black interior have "charcoal" carpeting. The black upholstery material stands out in contrast to the lighter charcoal colour. Was this the original factory combination?

I think I would prefer an interior that is a more seamless black colour, and have a nice sample from Autos International of a square weave carpet in "True Black" #315. Anyone use True Black carpet?

Thanks.

[Barry Brisco]

I have noticed that almost all cars with a black interior have "charcoal" carpetting. The black upholstery material stands out in contrast to the lighter charcoal colour. Was this the original factory combination?

Hi Michael,

I know of cars that have original black upholstery and oatmeal carpeting. I think it looks good, as the lighter carpet makes a nice contrast to the dark upholstery.

Using a deep black carpet with black upholstery would, I think, be unusual in a 356, and to my eyes not be very interesting visually.

See Charlie White's website for info about upholstery and carpet colors:
http://derwhites356literature.com/Porsche356Colors.html

You don't mention what year your car is.

Best regards,

Barry

[Michael Ufford]

Thanks Barry for your info.

I could find carpet info on Charlie's excellent site only for C cars and mine is a T-5 B coupe. Also there is no mention of charcoal carpeting, only black. This is one reason why I am questioning if charcoal was original for black interiors.

I understand the inclination for visual interest by contrasting the vinyl and the carpet colours, but my (idiosyncratic?) thinking is that the inside of a coupe is a small enough space that too many different colours, emphasizing panel shapes, make it seem even smaller.

I'm going for contrast between the interior and the outside paint, which is going to be either the original Silver or more likely Heron Gray.

Heron Gray is supposed to have either a red or blue interior, neither of which I care for. (Again a personal thing ... plus the black vinyl now in the car is in very good shape.)

[Jim Breazeale]

"Charcoal" is the correct color. Porsche never used a "true black" in any 356.

Regards

[Barry Brisco]

I could find carpet info on Charlie's excellent site only for C cars and mine is a T-5 B coupe. Also there is no mention of charcoal carpeting, only black. This is one reason why I am questioning if charcoal was original for black interiors.

I think that the "black" 356 carpeting is not a deep, full black. Which is why it is described as "charcoal" in English.

I understand the inclination for visual interest by contrasting the vinyl and the carpet colours, but my (idiosyncratic?) thinking is that the inside of a coupe is a small enough space that too many different colours, emphasizing panel shapes, make it seem even smaller.

I find that a significantly lighter carpet with black upholstery makes the interior seem bigger, in my opinion. You need to try to find some cars to look at it. Not photos, actual cars. That's the only way to be sure how you will react when you are in the car.

I'm going for contrast between the interior and the outside paint, which is going to be either the original Silver or more likely Heron Gray.
Heron Gray is supposed to have either a red or blue interior, neither of which I care for. (Again a personal thing ... plus the black vinyl now in the car is in very good shape.)

Heron Gray is a great 356 color, subtle and interesting. I would suggest you consider the "grey" carpet color shown on Charlie's site. It's a medium grey that might complement the paint nicely, and provide good contrast to the upholstery. But as you say, it's "personal" preference.

Good luck,

[Charlie White]

Jim's correct. Porsche never used "true black" as a regularly offered interior carpet color. One of the problems in finding information for the earlier 356's is that the information doesn't exist, or in some cases translations from German to English obscure the original meaning, i.e. black in the literature was actualy dark gray or charcoal.

CW

[Jon Warshawsky]

I have noticed that almost all cars with a black interior have "charcoal" carpeting. The black upholstery material stands out in contrast to the lighter charcoal colour. Was this the original factory combination?

I think I would prefer an interior that is a more seamless black colour, and have a nice sample from Autos International of a square weave carpet in "True Black" #315. Anyone use True Black carpet?

Thanks.

Will defer to Charlie and others who have been at this a lot longer than I have, but one thing to consider is that the aesthetic of the era was different from the '70s where it seems like monochrome interiors became more popular and materials became cheaper.

My white Speedster has black seats with white piping, and apparently came with tan carpets with black vinyl borders. Your friendly Porsche dealer would roll his eyes if you tried to order something like that in your 2011 Boxster, but it's kind of in keeping with the spirit of the 356s.

Just a thought.

[Michael Ufford]

Thanks to all for your helpful answers. Since "charcoal" is the authentic colour, it seems that I am going to have to chose between my own taste and the 1950s 1960s aesthetic.