Hundreds Of Products Ready Today. Dispatch/Collection Corbeau PSR seats in a Volkswagen Up: the narrow pattern that makes it work
This one starts with a promise we made across the counter. A customer wanted Corbeau PSR recliners in a Volkswagen Up, on runners, and the honest first answer is that the catalogue does not hand you that combination on a plate. Corbeau do not make a frame for the Up, and Cobra do not make the seat he wanted. So you would think the job stalls there, and plenty of people give up at exactly this point.
It does not stall, because of one number stamped into the bottom of the seat. The PSR has two sets of bolt holes in its base, and the narrow set sits at 291mm across by 330mm front to back. That is the Cobra pattern, hole for hole. Cobra make a very tidy fitting kit for the Up, and built the right way it presents exactly those points. Order the two of them together, with a note on the order so we set it up to match, and the pair bolt up as if one company had designed them.
We sell a good deal of mix and match kit in here, and this is about the cleanest example there is. Cameron worked the pairing out at the counter and Garreth priced the whole conversion at just over a thousand pounds for both sides, which is very reasonable for a city car that suddenly holds you properly.
- The PSR carries two bolt patterns, and the narrow one is Cobra’s 291mm x 330mm
- The Cobra Up kit bolts to the factory floor points, no drilling
- Sliding runners are built into the kit, so there is nothing else to buy
- One kit per seat, handed left and right, £255 a side
The short answer
A pair of Corbeau PSR recliners, two Cobra Volkswagen Up fitting kits, and one line on the order telling us the seats they are for. The kits bolt to the Up’s standard floor mounting points, the runners come already built into them, and the PSR’s narrow bolt pattern drops straight onto the rails. There is no drilling, no adapter plate and no fabrication anywhere in the job. We keep both halves in stock, and we send the two orders out together so nothing sits waiting on the other.
Why the obvious route dead-ends
The natural way to buy a seat conversion is to stay inside one brand: their seat, their frame, their runners, everybody happy. On an Up you cannot do that with a Corbeau recliner, because Corbeau simply do not list a frame for the car. Cobra do, and theirs is a proper tailored kit on the standard points, but Cobra’s own recliners are a different shape of seat and they were not what this customer wanted. He wanted the PSR, which is the slimmest recliner we keep and honestly the right call in a cabin this size.
Normally that is where a compromise gets sold. The reason it does not have to be one here is that Corbeau drill their recliners for two bolt patterns at the factory, their own and Cobra’s, precisely so the seats can travel across brand boundaries. Most people never notice the second set of holes under the seat at all. This is the job they exist for. We see the same dead end on other city cars too, and the fix below travels better than you would think.
The two patterns under a PSR
Turn a PSR over and there are eight threaded holes in the base, not four. The listing states both figures: 291mm by 330mm, and 345mm by 271mm. The wide set is the Sparco pattern, which OMP and Corbeau’s own frames use as well. The narrow set is the Cobra pattern, and it is usually the one people have never had a reason to look at.
Cameron keeps a tape measure by the till for exactly this conversation, because the two sets sit close together and it is quite easy to mistake one for the other in a dark footwell. Measure between hole centres across the seat: about 291mm means you are on the narrow set, about 345mm means the wide one. Or send us a photo of the base and we will read it for you.
The Cobra kit, and its 291mm build
The Cobra kit for the Up is a tailored steel frame that bolts to the car’s factory seat mounting points, with a pair of Cobra’s premium sliding runners and the release handle already mounted on top. The seat belt bracket and, where the car needs one, the buckle receiver come in the box as well, so all of the hardware between the floor and the seat arrives in one order.
The part worth understanding is that the runners bolt onto the frame at a chosen spacing, and Cobra build the kit to suit the seat it is ordered for. Their wide seats take the runners out at 405mm. The PSR wants them at 291mm, the narrow build, and that is the single most important line on the whole order. Same frame, same runners, two different builds. We specify the build on every kit we order against a Corbeau seat, which is what the ordering section below is about.
The seats
The PSR is Corbeau’s compact recliner, and it is the seat we point at when a cabin is small and the standard chairs are past their best. It has a steel frame, moulded foam, proper bolsters, and a full recline with a tilt forward for anything living in a three door. Trim is a breathable black fabric, and the options list covers heated pads, an inflatable lumbar and double locking runners for other cars that need them.
The standard pair is £558 including VAT. The Tartan Edition pair runs to £1,056 in a choice of eight genuine wool tartans, and in a city car it is a lovely bit of theatre. Both versions carry the same base, so the narrow pattern trick works identically on either.
- The slimmest recliner we stock, and the one our VW Up seat guide already recommends for this car
- Two factory bolt patterns in the base: 291mm x 330mm and 345mm x 271mm
- Sold in pairs, driver and passenger side
- 4 point harness compatible, up to a 38 inch waist
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The fitting kit
One listing covers the kit, and it is priced per seat at £255 including VAT. Two seats means two kits, one for each side of the car, and the sides are not interchangeable because the belt bracket and the spacer bar swap over. It fits the Up from 2011 onwards, the GTI included, and the same platform logic covers the car’s Seat and Skoda sisters, so ask us if yours is a Mii or a Citigo.
Because the runners are part of the kit, the usual add a slider step disappears from the shopping list. The handle sits across the front at the width of the build, which on this conversion is the narrow one.
Ordering it so everything matches
Here is the part that turns a good idea into a working install, and it is the reason this page exists. The kit has to leave Cobra built for the seat that is going on it. Ordered blind, there is every chance it arrives set up for a Cobra seat instead, and at that point you have a frame and a seat sat in the same garage refusing to speak to each other.
If you are reading this with a different seat in mind, the same rule holds. The frame is built to the seat, so the seat decision comes first and the frame follows it. Send us the combination before you commit and we will tell you whether it pairs, because not every cross-brand match works as neatly as this one does.
Common questions
Will the PSR actually fit inside a Volkswagen Up?
Yes. It is the slimmest recliner we sell and it is the recliner our VW Up seat guide recommends for the car. The cabin is narrow, which is exactly why the PSR is the pick and a wider recliner is not.
Do I need to buy runners separately?
No. The Cobra kit arrives with a pair of premium sliding runners and the release handle already on the frame. The seat bolts to the runner top rails and the job is done.
Is one kit enough for two seats?
No. The kit is priced per seat and it is handed, with the seat belt bracket and spacer bar on opposite sides for driver and passenger. A pair of seats needs one kit for each side.
What about the wide 345mm pattern on the seat?
It stays unused on this car. The wide set is the Sparco pattern and it earns its keep when a PSR goes onto a Sparco or Corbeau frame in a different vehicle. On the Up, the Cobra kit wants the narrow set.
Does this work on the Up GTI, or a Seat Mii or Skoda Citigo?
The kit is listed for the Up from 2011 onwards including the GTI. The Mii and Citigo share the platform, so ask us with the registration and we will confirm before you order.
Can I have the heated or lumbar options with this conversion?
Yes. Heated pads and the inflatable lumbar are factory options on the PSR and neither touches the base of the seat, so the mounting story on this page does not change at all.
Will the seats sit higher than standard?
A tailored frame with integral runners is designed to put the seat close to the standard height, but every seat and body combination lands slightly differently. If headroom is tight for you, tell us your height when you order and we will advise before anything ships.
What we would order
The standard PSR pair at £558, a driver’s side and a passenger’s side Cobra Up kit at £255 each, and the order note saying PSR, narrow 291mm pattern, both sides. That is £1,068 all in, we check everything matches before it ships, and the install is a socket set and an afternoon. If the car deserves a bit of theatre, the Tartan pair takes the same conversion to £1,566.
Final thoughts
The best conversions are usually the ones where somebody has read the underside of a seat properly. The full recliner range is in reclining sport seats, the PSR lives with its relatives in Corbeau Sportline seats, and every Cobra frame we stock is in Cobra fitting frames. If your car and seat combination is not on this page, ask us anyway. There is usually a pattern that lines up somewhere.