Hi Geoff and Kevin. I agree entirely with your comments on the new leather in the 411. It is wrong to have it "loose" like that straight after trimming. If indeed Connolly hide has been used, the problem will be with the trimming work, not the leather. I have just been researching the subject and have today ordered a Connolly Vaumol hide for repair work to my 405 seats, from UK Hide, the agents for Connolly. They sent me a swatch, which I have been able to compare both with my original seats and an original Connolly book of swatches I have. The new swatch compares very favourably with the old and the leather is even thicker.
The old, and now available once again Connolly leather, is very different to modern leathers. The tanning process is vegetable tanning as opposed to modern chrome tanning, the former giving the charismatic aroma lacking in modern hides. They are bull hides, rather than cow, and are thus thicker, being around 1.3mm vs circa 0.7- 1.0mm. The drying process is different too. All this is why they cost £8.95 / ft2 + VAT vs £3.90 / ft2 for more normal commercial hides. My trimmer says he usually pays around £250 for a Nappa quality hide and I've just paid £706 for a Connolly to the correct, original spec.
I sometimes question whether leather is even worth having in modern cars. My wife had a BMW Cabriolet, with "heat reflecting" leather. It was insipid stuff, with no character whatsoever. However it has to pass a lot of tests these days to meet the various specification requirements inflicted by the car manufacturers, as well as no doubt cost restrictions.
I'm really excited by the prospect of marrying new, correct spec leather with as much of the original that can be kept.
When you see my car at the annual Concours and the interior looks like a pair of clown's trousers, you will know I got it all wrong...
