Alcantara Fabric for BMW: Top 5 Questions Answered
Why does BMW choose to partner with Alcantara for upholstery, wrapping, and interior upgrades? For a variety of reasons such as:
- Sustainability. Alcantara continues to commit to sustainability. For numerous years, Alcantara has aimed to balance its profitability and product development between social, economic, and environmental factors. Alcantara assigns over 50% of its international investments to initiatives that foster sustainability. Over time, Alcantara has achieved 100% carbon neutrality!
- Luxuriness. The touch and feel of Alcantara textile is unmatched by leather and other types of upholstery fabric. Alcantara’s touch and feel increases the premiumness of any vehicle.
- Lightness. Alcantara is composed of about 68% polyester and 32% polyurethane, making Alcantara fabric lighter than leather and other types of fabric.
Have questions about Alcantara fabric for BMW? We’ve answered the top five questions about Alcantara fabric for BMW in this article - enjoy!
1. What is Alcantara fabric?
Alcantara is a synthetic textile material. Alcantara has a soft, suede-like microfiber pile and is renowned for its unmatched durability. Alcantara is commonly used in automotive interiors such as Alcantara for car seats or Alcantara steering wheel cover.
Alcantara is commonly used in automotive interiors such as BMW because it is fabulously easy to clean. Unlike leather materials which are made out of animal skin and contain oil, Alcantara is made out of suede-like material and does not get easily stained or dirty. That said, it is still possible to get Alcantara dirty, so it is imperative to maintain your Alcantara car seats or Alcantara steering wheel cover routinely to keep the fabric in top condition.
2. How can you tell real from counterfeit Alcantara fabric?
Authentic Alcantara has nearly identical front and back surfaces. In contrast, counterfeit Alcantara have only the suede-like front with a cotton backing. This is the easiest way to differentiate the two.
3. Why is Alcantara fabric a better option than leather fabric?
The main benefit of Alcantara is that the fabric does not come from an animal. This not only reduces obvious benefits of killing innocent animals but it allows for larger sizes of fabrics. Where leather surface area has limitations based on the size of the cow, Alcantara can be made in limitless sized sheets if necessary. As a result, this will reduce the number of seams and or stitches needed to cover larger pieces.
In addition, Alcantara is tremendously simpler to clean compared to leather. Routine wipes of your Alcantara interior will keep your Alcantara fabric in top condition. For specific details on how to clean Alcantara fabric, read our article: Alcantara Automotive Fabric: How to Clean Your Alcantara Material.
4. Does Alcantara fabric in a BMW get hot during the summer?
Alcantara is cool to the touch in the summer and warm to the touch in the winter, really the ideal combination for a vehicle’s interior.
Leather may eventually dry and crack when exposed to the sun if not properly maintained. Conversely, Alcantara is completely resistant to cracking like leather and will not fade from harmful UV rays.
5. Which BMW vehicles use microfiber ultrasuede?
Alcantara fabric can be found in BMW’s M-series such as the M3, M4, or M5. The steering wheels, seats, door panels and headliners are the most common places that use Alcantara material. Many aftermarket BMW M Performance parts also use Alcantara.
Additional key benefits of Alcantara fabric include:
- 50% lighter than leather
- Breathes better than leather
- Naturally resists stains
- Excellent fire retardant qualities (ideal for race seats, gloves etc.)
- Highly customizable with colors
- Doesn’t “pill” or ball up like a cheap sweater over time
- Allows for superb grip (steering wheels, seat bolsters etc.)
We are proud to be an official distributor of Alcantara in North America. If you are looking to purchase Alcantara please visit our online store to see the full Alcantara collection!
