[Vecchio Engineering]

We have on offer a stunning pair of brand new Sparco Milano sport seats. These seats are Sparco’s prestige reclining seats. They are finished in the finest black leather. What is extremely unusual about these is the centres are trimmed in perforated black leather giving a contrast in textures. Sparco do not offer this unique finish anymore. All the relining fittings and controls are finished in silver. They have a small Sparco logo embossed onto the headrests.

For those of you that do not know, these Sparco seats were offered by JCW and used as their own re-branded “sport seats” on the JCW options list. These seats now retail over a £1000(INC VAT) EACH!

The seats can be fitted to pretty much any car. However, you WILL NOT require side mounts for the Mini. Indecently they will fit all 1st Gen Minis without issues, regardless off build date or options.

They do not have airbags. The support these sport seats offer through the bends is truly amazing. Never again will you be in your passenger’s seat when taking a long sweeping bend at speed. Even if your not heavily involved in the ‘going fast' scene these seats provide the sort of comfort associated with a luxury car. No more back pains after the long journey to and from work.

Pictures to follow shortly!

Price for the pair: £999(INC VAT)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

[MarkW]

sure they are the same as the jcw, I thought the JCW were sparco demon seats?

 

[Vecchio Engineering]

Demon seats ARE Sparco Milano's! The Demon was specially made for Demon Tweeks in contrasting colours, hence the name "Demon".

 

[Ant FR]

1000 quid each?????, where you been shoping , rip off britain, there 1350 from bmw for the pair

 

[MarkW]

quick google search reveals all Demons are not Milanos. JCW Seats are however both Demon and Milano

sparco demon - 1st JCW Seat

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milano - 2nd JCW Seat

​

 

[Vecchio Engineering]

Ant FR,

These seats are around £1000 retail. Take a look on the internet. They are completely covered in leather. Remember though they are Sparco seats not the JCW, so price is more! Also the price we are offering is a lot less than BMW. Depends on how they are specked; these seats will vary in price i.e. leather/alcantara. RRP for black panther leather seats at BMW is £1600(pair). You will not find 2 brand new Sparco sport seats that we are offering for £999(INC VAT) anywhere.

MarkW

The seats are exactly the same. There are a few minor differences; one has an adjustable leg extension and different trim patterns. Other than that they use the same frames and reclining mechanisms even the same foam.

 

[blaze6]

Ant FR,

These seats are around £1000 retail. Take a look on the internet. They are completely covered in leather. Remember though they are Sparco seats not the JCW, so price is more! Also the price we are offering is a lot less than BMW. Depends on how they are specked; these seats will vary in price i.e. leather/alcantara. RRP for black panther leather seats at BMW is £1600(pair). You will not find 2 brand new Sparco sport seats that we are offering for £999(INC VAT) anywhere.

MarkW

The seats are exactly the same. There are a few minor differences; one has an adjustable leg extension and different trim patterns. Other than that they use the same frames and reclining mechanisms even the same foam.

my heated reclining panther black jcw seats were £1460 incl. vat from BMW after a 10% discount. £999 incl vat's a good price, as seats go they're expensive but i think vecchio's right, - that's a good price. Sport seats, racing seats, bucket seats, reclining seats from Corbeau, Cobra, Buddy Club, Momo, Recaro, Sparco - SportSeats4u usually sell seats cheaper than most and they retail for close to £2000 for a set.
only thing i'd disagree with vecchio on is his saying these seats are good ergonomically - the way those seats are designed, is not good in that respect. they may put your hips in a naturally partially flexed position (if you're a short ******* like me and have to tilt the seat up it's even worse) which may cause hip pain and secondary back pain especially in the driver and primairily on the left side (clutch side), a jcw seat with a stiff aftermarket clutch is not a good combination in that respect! i don't think there are many height and tilt adjustable sport seats out there on rails though.

 

[Vecchio Engineering]

blaze6

Thanks for your comments. I know there are some excellent deals to be had by many of the BMW Mini dealerships on the JCW seats. However, trying to find the same deal on the same seats with the Sparco name embossed in to the headrest in is another story. The website you posted has the Sparco Milano’s at £1,967.01(INC VAT) for the pair (black leather). Near enough £2000 as you mentioned in your post. Quite a saving.

I understand what you are saying about the ergonomics of the seat. However, it is impossible to go about designing a seat for all body shapes and sizes. There has to be a compromise! In racing there isn’t and seats are custom made for the driver. When the clutch wears and the biting point is closer to the floor this only exacerbates the back problems people experience which you have mentioned. Compared to the standard seats fitted to the early Minis these seats are a vast improvement. The basic seats were so bad Mini decided to upgrade them with the sport seat (not JCW seat) which made a hell of a difference. There was a number of issues with the ‘basic’ seat Mini used, not just ergonomics. The Sparco’s have the provision for lower back adjustment also.

 

[blaze6]

blaze6

Thanks for your comments. I know there are some excellent deals to be had by many of the BMW Mini dealerships on the JCW seats. However, trying to find the same deal on the same seats with the Sparco name embossed in to the headrest in is another story. The website you posted has the Sparco Milano’s at £1,967.01(INC VAT) for the pair (black leather). Near enough £2000 as you mentioned in your post. Quite a saving.

I understand what you are saying about the ergonomics of the seat. However, it is impossible to go about designing a seat for all body shapes and sizes. There has to be a compromise! In racing there isn’t and seats are custom made for the driver. When the clutch wears and the biting point is closer to the floor this only exacerbates the back problems people experience which you have mentioned. Compared to the standard seats fitted to the early Minis these seats are a vast improvement. The basic seats were so bad Mini decided to upgrade them with the sport seat (not JCW seat) which made a hell of a difference. There was a number of issues with the ‘basic’ seat Mini used, not just ergonomics. The Sparco’s have the provision for lower back adjustment also.

the standard cooper s sport seats, not the basic seats and not the jcw seats are the best ergonomically. they're not the best for track days and performance driving where you need to be kept in your seat with minimal lateral/sideways movement, but interms of the ergonomics of comfort they are the best and minimise long term joint problems, .....-speaking as someone with a background in health.
if you look at the angle between the back rest and bottom seat, the ideal angle here should be 90 degrees, on the jcw - if you look at the surface of the bottom seat it has an incline - as the front part of the base of the seat is raised in comparison to the back bit such that the angle is less than 90 degrees. with your hips slightly flexed which makes the base of your body, your bum more stable , it serves a purpose within the context of racing you are cocooned by the curvature of the back of the seat that limits your sideways movements as well. it's a focused driver's position optimised for the racing environment.
i don't think vertical height adjustment would be a big ask on these seats TBH. i probably would have kept mine if i'd had this! my clutch wasn't worn , but it was an exedy so a bit stiffer.
as you say these seats would work well for all if they were tailor made to the individual driver like in F1 etc.

 

[Vecchio Engineering]

I know what you mean about the vertical height adjustment on the standard seats (although an option on the passenger side). This is one thing that really annoys me; the loss of height adjustment when installing these seats! As someone who hasn’t got a bloody clue on backs/ back pain or seat ergonomics then you are absolutely right. The standard seats may very well be better from a chiropractic viewpoint. Honestly though, were your seats that bad you had to remove them?

 

[blaze6]

I know what you mean about the vertical height adjustment on the standard seats (although an option on the passenger side). This is one thing that really annoys me; the loss of height adjustment when installing these seats! As someone who hasn’t got a bloody clue on backs/ back pain or seat ergonomics then you are absolutely right. The standard seats may very well be better from a chiropractic viewpoint. Honestly though, were your seats that bad you had to remove them?

it's personal choice, i'd been thinking about selling them for a while, when i needed a new engine, it made sense to sell them then and get the standard leather sports seats, i wasn't expecting a huge change, but once i was back in the standard sports seats, i really appreciated the difference. it was much better for me. you seats price wise are a fantastic bargain, and for most people won't pose any major problems in terms of ergonomics etc.
the gen 2 jcw seats look a lot better.

 

[Hugo]

the standard cooper s sport seats, not the basic seats and not the jcw seats are the best ergonomically. they're not the best for track days and performance driving where you need to be kept in your seat with minimal lateral/sideways movement, but interms of the ergonomics of comfort they are the best and minimise long term joint problems, .....-speaking as someone with a background in health.
if you look at the angle between the back rest and bottom seat, the ideal angle here should be 90 degrees, on the jcw - if you look at the surface of the bottom seat it has an incline - as the front part of the base of the seat is raised in comparison to the back bit such that the angle is less than 90 degrees. with your hips slightly flexed which makes the base of your body, your bum more stable , it serves a purpose within the context of racing you are cocooned by the curvature of the back of the seat that limits your sideways movements as well. it's a focused driver's position optimised for the racing environment.
i don't think vertical height adjustment would be a big ask on these seats TBH. i probably would have kept mine if i'd had this! my clutch wasn't worn , but it was an exedy so a bit stiffer.
as you say these seats would work well for all if they were tailor made to the individual driver like in F1 etc.

I was watching a program on the manufacture of the z4 and the BMW engineer said basically the same thing about the sitting position, but he also added that your wrists should rest ontop of the steering wheel with your hands lying limp behind it.

I've experienced back pains after a long run if the Sparcos aren't adjusted right.



My Alcantra JCW Sparcos where £1400 inc vat.

 

[Vecchio Engineering]

Here are the pictures as promised. Sorry about the bad photography. My camera lens was filthy at the time, unbeknown to me. There are round dots on the lens which you can see in the pics. My apologies.

 

[Ruskins JCW]

They look mint Leo

 

[Vecchio Engineering]

You should see them in the flesh!

 

[blaze6]

sweet.:smile:

 

[roysterdsb]

They are very nice looking seats

Does anyone know what kind of weight they are relative to current MCS leather seats & the more skimpy Sparcos ?

Must use willpower........

 

[Vecchio Engineering]

A Cooper S leather sports seat is 15.6Kg or there about (EACH). Haven't weighed the Sparco seats yet! Sorry!

 

[Simba81]

Help? im thinking of getting some new seats for my r53. sparco , could someone pls tell me what fittings if any i would require?

 

[Vecchio Engineering]

The only thing you will need is the official Mini resistors to stop the airbag light coming on. (You can make your own!) You may also need to visit a Mini dealer to reprogram the dash lights. All fixings and seat rails are used from you current seats, regardless of what OEM Mini seats you have! Very easy job to install the seats.