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Fitting Recaro Pole Position seats to a right-hand drive VW Corrado

A customer rang this week with a straightforward ask. He has a right-hand drive Corrado, he wants Recaro Pole Position FIA seats in it, and he wanted to know what subframes and side mounts to order.

Recaro do not make a direct-fit subframe for the Corrado, so this is a four part build. Here is the stack, what each part does, and the ordering mistake that catches people on this car in particular.

  • Four parts per seat: floor bracket, runners, side mounts, seat
  • £1,612.94 inc VAT per seat with the Pole Position FIA, everything in stock
  • The same mounts take the ABE road version and the Pro Racer SPG XL
  • Planted list this bracket under a US title, so order by the dropdown, not the name
Dark red Volkswagen Corrado cornering on a British race circuit
The Corrado. No Recaro subframe exists for it, so the route is a Planted floor bracket.

The short answer

Planted Technology Corrado floor bracket, Recaro double locking sliding runners, Recaro steel side mount brackets, then the seat. That is £1,612.94 inc VAT for one seat with a Pole Position FIA, or £3,257.40 to do both sides.

There is no Recaro subframe listed for the Corrado, and there never has been. Recaro make car-specific frames for a long list of cars but this is not one of them, so the Planted bracket does that job instead. It is a flat floor bracket that takes any seat on the right runners, which is exactly what you want here.

Everything on this page is priced per seatThe bracket, the runners and the side mounts are all sold per seat position. The Pole Position FIA comes as a pair. If you are only doing the driver's side, tell us and we will sort a single.

The four parts, in the order they bolt up

  1. Planted Corrado floor bracket, £222.60Bolts to the factory seat mounting points in place of the standard runners. Steel, black, one per seat position. This is what makes the whole thing a bolt-in job on a standard floor.
  2. Recaro double locking sliding runners, £166.94Sit on top of the bracket and give you fore and aft adjustment. The double locking mechanism is the reason Recaro specify this set for race seats.
  3. Recaro steel side mount brackets, £215.40Bolt to the runners and then to the sides of the seat shell. One set covers one seat. This is the part that has to match the seat family, not just the brand.
  4. The seat, from £1,008.00The Pole Position FIA is a fixed-back composite shell on side mounts, so it has no base pattern of its own. The mounts are how it attaches to anything.
Fixed back bucket seat mounted on steel side mounts and a floor subframe in a right-hand drive VW Corrado
What it looks like underneath: floor bracket, runners, then the side mounts up to the shell.

The ordering mistake on this car

The Planted Corrado bracket is listed as “VW Corrado (1988-1995) – Passenger / Right”. Planted are American and write their titles for left-hand drive, where the right of the car is the passenger side. On your Corrado it is the driver’s side.

The listing is fine once you open it. The options are “RHD Driver Side” and “RHD Passenger Side”, both in stock at the same price. Pick from the dropdown and ignore the title.

Order by the dropdown, not the product nameTwo brackets for the same side is the most common thing we have to swap out on a job like this, and it costs you a week. If you are doing both seats, put one RHD Driver Side and one RHD Passenger Side in the basket.

FIA or ABE, and which suits a Corrado

The Pole Position comes two ways and they look almost identical. The difference is the approval and what the shell is made of.

The FIA version carries FIA 8855-1999 and takes a 6-point harness. It is the one competition classes ask for. The ABE version carries the German road approval instead, is fibreglass, and is listed as 4-point compatible. Both are fixed-back, both are side mount, both are quoted for drivers under six foot with a 32in to 36in waist.

VersionApprovalHarnessShellPrice inc VAT
Pole Position FIAFIA 8855-19996 pointComposite£2,016.00 a pair, £1,008.00 each
Pole Position ABE, velourRoad and track (ABE)4 pointFibreglass£2,220.00 a pair
Pole Position ABE, leather and suedeRoad and track (ABE)4 pointFibreglass£2,454.60 a pair
Pole Position 2018 EditionRoad and track4 pointFibreglass£1,446.48, sold singly
The FIA one is the cheaper of the twoPeople assume the competition seat costs more. On the Pole Position it is the other way round: the FIA pair is £2,016.00 against £2,220.00 for the ABE velour pair. So if you compete, or you think you might, there is no price argument for going the other way.

For a Corrado my honest view is that it depends on one thing: whether the car is ever going to be entered into anything. If it is, buy the FIA and be done. If it is a fast road car that sees the odd track day, the ABE is a road-approved seat and the 2018 Edition is the one to look at, because it is the only one you can buy as a single and it is the cheapest way into the family.

If you compete, check the regulations for your class before you choose. They will tell you which approval you need.

The same mounts fit more than the Pole Position

This is worth knowing before you spend the money, because the side mounts are the part people replace when they change seats and they often do not need to.

The steel set is listed for the Pole Position FIA, the Pole Position ABE and the Pro Racer SPG XL. So if you buy the ABE now and move to the FIA later, or the other way round, the mounts, the runners and the bracket all stay in the car. You are only buying the shell.

The alloy set covers a slightly different list, and the Podium and the Pole Position N.G need their own. Recaro are specific about this and so are we.

Side mount setFitsMaterialPrice inc VAT per seat
Recaro steel side mountsPole Position FIA, Pole Position ABE, Pro Racer SPG XLSteel£215.40
Recaro alloy side mountsPole Position FIA, Pole Position ABE, Pro Racer SPA XL, Profi SPG XLAluminium£252.00
Recaro steel, Profi and Pro RacerProfi SPG/SPA, Pro Racer SPG/SPASteelAsk us
Recaro steel, PodiumPodium GF and Podium CFSteel£281.40
Recaro steel, Pole Position N.GPole Position N.G and FuriousSteel£221.76
Check the set against the seat, every timeRecaro list these as fitting specific seat models and nothing else. A bracket that fits a Pole Position will not do for a Podium. Send us the exact seat model and we will confirm which set you need before you order.

What it costs

PartPer seatBoth seats
Planted Corrado floor bracket£222.60£445.20
Recaro double locking sliding runners£166.94£365.40 as a twin kit
Recaro steel side mount brackets£215.40£430.80
Recaro Pole Position FIA£1,008.00£2,016.00 a pair
Total, FIA build£1,612.94£3,257.40
Same build with the ABE velour instead£1,714.94£3,461.40

Prices include VAT and were correct on 14 August 2026. The both-seats runner figure uses the twin kit, which is cheaper than two singles. Everything listed here is in stock.

What I would actually do

Buy the bracket, the runners and the side mounts once and treat them as part of the car rather than part of the seat. They are about £605 a side and they will outlast several sets of shells. Get those right and changing your mind about the seat later costs you a shell and nothing else.

On the seat, Garreth’s view is that if there is any chance of you competing, buy the FIA. It is the cheaper of the two and it saves you buying twice. If the Corrado is a road car that does the odd track day, the ABE is the sensible one and nobody will know the difference sitting in it.

One thing worth raising on a Corrado specifically: it is a low car with a shallow roofline, and a fixed-back shell on a bracket and runners sits differently to the standard seat. If you are close to six foot, Cameron will want to go through the height with you before anything is ordered.

Ring us on 0115 9893488 with the car and the seat you fancy, or bring it to the showroom and we will sit you in one first.

Common questions

Is there a Recaro subframe for the Corrado?

No. Recaro make car-specific frames for a long list of cars and the Corrado is not one of them. The Planted Technology bracket does that job, and it is a flat floor bracket designed to take any seat on the correct runners.

Do I definitely need the runners?

You need them if you want the seat to move. The bracket bolts to the floor and the runners are what give you fore and aft adjustment. Recaro's double locking set is the one specified for race seats. If you want the seat fixed in one position instead, tell us and we will talk it through.

Which side do I order for a right-hand drive car?

Choose "RHD Driver Side" and "RHD Passenger Side" from the dropdown on the Planted listing. Ignore the "Passenger / Right" in the product name, which comes from Planted's American catalogue and is written for left-hand drive.

Will these mounts fit if I change to a different Recaro later?

The steel set covers the Pole Position FIA, the Pole Position ABE and the Pro Racer SPG XL, so moving between those three costs you a shell and nothing else. A Podium or a Pole Position N.G needs its own set. Check with us before you assume.

Can I fit these to the standard floor without cutting?

Yes. The Planted bracket bolts to the factory seat mounting points. Torque them properly and check your belt buckle clearance before you drive it, because a fixed-back seat puts the buckle in a different place to the standard seat.

Does the Pole Position suit a taller driver?

Recaro quote it for drivers under six foot with a 32in to 36in waist. The Corrado roofline is low to begin with, so if you are near the top of that, speak to us first and we will work out the seat height with the bracket and runners in place.

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