A Gallardo that has done fifteen years of road miles usually still has its original seats bolted in, and by now the bolsters have gone soft and the cushion sits an inch or two lower than it left the factory. The cabin was tight to start with, low roof, high sills, not much room between the seat back and the rear bulkhead, so a worn factory seat gets harder to live with the longer you own the car. Owners come to us wanting more support through the shoulders for a track day, or simply a seat that has not sagged after two decades of use, and a base mount recliner on the right frame answers both.
A recliner keeps the backrest adjustable and the runners doing their job, which matters if the car still does the odd motorway run alongside a trackday. Get the frame right and the seat drops into the same floor mounting points as the seat it replaces, no drilling, no compromise on the parts of the car that still need to work like a road car.
We stock a fitting frame for the Gallardo from two of the three brands we rate, and between them they cover every seat in this guide. A frame is the vehicle specific base that bolts to the floor mounting points in place of the standard seat runners. The seat then mounts to the frame, either directly or through runners, and it decides your final seat height. The Gallardo’s low central tunnel and narrow footwell make a vehicle specific frame worth the extra cost over anything universal, since it is built to clear both. Which frame you buy decides which seats you can run, so this choice comes first.
Part COBZMUC6327, £231.66 inc VAT a side. Choose driver or passenger at no extra cost, or add the pair option to order both sides in one go at £463.32 inc VAT total. Matches the 291mm x 330mm pattern used across the whole Cobra recliner range.
Part SB244, £224.95 inc VAT a side, RHD driver and passenger listed as separate products. A flat steel base that takes any pattern in this guide, paired with runners matching the seat you pick.
Every reclining seat we sell bolts down through a base mount pattern, and on the Gallardo there are three that matter, plus one that we check by hand. The Cobra Misano uses 291mm x 330mm, exactly what the Cobra subframe is built around, so it is the only seat here that can take either frame route. The Sparco SPR and the Sparco SPX both use 345mm x 271mm and the Recaro Sportster CS uses 405mm x 290mm, and none of those line up with the Cobra subframe, so all three go on the Planted bracket with the runner that matches.
The Bride GIAS III is the one to talk to us about. It is a base mount reclining seat, but our listing does not publish a bolt pattern for it, and BRIDE build their own rails around Japanese cars so there is no BRIDE rail for a Gallardo. The Planted bracket is a flat plate and the answer is very likely yes, but on a seat at this money we would confirm it before you order instead of printing a promise on a page.
| Seat | Bolt pattern | Cobra subframe | Planted bracket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recaro Sportster CS | 405 x 290 | No | Fits |
| Cobra Misano Anniversary | 291 x 330 | Fits | Fits |
| Sparco SPR | 345 x 271 | No | Fits |
| Bride GIAS III | Not published | Ring us | Ring us |
| Sparco SPX | 345 x 271 | No | Fits |
This is the seat people ask about even when they were not planning to spend this much, and in a Gallardo it is the sensible place to start. The Sportster CS holds you through the shoulders and thighs without the aggressive squeeze of a full bucket, so it is as comfortable on the drive to the circuit as it is once you get there, and Recaro list it as suitable for all waist sizes and all heights, which is unusual for a seat with this much support.
It is a 405mm base mount, the widest pattern in this guide, so it goes on the Planted bracket with a Recaro compatible runner. The Cobra subframe will not take it.
The Misano is Cobra at full stretch, and it is the only seat on this page that will bolt to either frame route we sell for the Gallardo. It runs the 291mm x 330mm pattern the Cobra subframe is built around, so it is the cheapest of these five to actually get into the car once the frame is counted.
At 11.5kg it is also the lightest thing here by a clear margin, and it is the only one of the five that publishes a weight at all. It is built to order and Cobra ask for four to six weeks, so it is a seat you plan around a date instead of ordering the week before a track day.
The SPR is the interesting one. Almost every reclining seat on the market is a tubular steel frame with foam and trim over it, and the SPR is a moulded fibreglass shell, made the way a competition bucket is made, with a recline mechanism added to it. What you get is a shell that holds its shape under you and a seat you can still use to drive home.
In a Gallardo that matters more than it would in a saloon. The cabin is tight and the roofline is low, and a shell that supports without needing a deep cushion under you is worth real headroom. It is a 345mm mount, so the Planted bracket is the route.
The GIAS III is the seat people come to us for by name. It is a reclining shell on BRIDE’s own construction, silver FRP or the super aramid black shell, and it is the most distinctive looking thing on this page by a distance. If the Gallardo is a car you are building and not only driving, this is the seat that changes the cabin.
One thing to sort before you order, and we would rather say it here than let you find out later. BRIDE seats normally mount on BRIDE’s own rails, and those rails are built around Japanese cars, so there is no BRIDE rail for a Gallardo. Our listing does not publish a bolt pattern for this seat either. It is a base mount seat and the Planted bracket is a flat plate, so the answer is very likely yes with the right runner, but we will confirm it against the seat in front of us before you commit this much money. Ring Cameron and he will check it the same day.
If the question is simply which is the finest reclining seat we can put in a Gallardo, this is the answer. Sparco built the SPX as the first carbon fibre reclining seat sold to the public to the same specification they supply to car manufacturers, and it is made in Italy with the materials that go into OEM supercar seats.
The backrest is carbon and the lower section is composite, so the shell is shaped instead of being padded into shape, and the whole seat comes in around 12kg. The trim is Italian leather, perforated where it needs to breathe, with an Alcantara centre that is there to grip you, not to look good. It is listed driver and passenger side, so a matched pair is straightforward. Like the SPR it is a 345mm mount on the Planted bracket.
Both frames bolt to the Gallardo’s factory seat mounting points, so there is no drilling on a standard floor. Torque the floor bolts properly and check seat belt buckle clearance before you drive, because a sport seat often sits the buckle somewhere new. Between seat and frame go the sliding runners, and they follow the same pattern logic as the frames. One ordering quirk worth knowing: the Cobra subframe is priced per side with the pair as an add-on option at checkout, while the Planted bracket lists driver and passenger as two separate products, so check which pricing structure you are looking at before you order for two seats.
| Your seat | Runners to order | Works on |
|---|---|---|
| Recaro Sportster CS | Endurance Recaro compatible runner kit, £95.04 a seat | Planted bracket only |
| Cobra Misano Anniversary | Cobra Premium sliding runners, £84.00 a seat | Cobra subframe or Planted bracket |
| Sparco SPR | Sparco sliding runner kit, £78.00 a pair | Planted bracket only |
| Bride GIAS III | We confirm the runner with the fit | Ring us before ordering |
| Sparco SPX | Sparco sliding runner kit, £78.00 a pair | Planted bracket only |
The Planted bracket is listed for the full 2003 to 2014 Gallardo production run. The Cobra subframe is listed simply for the Gallardo without a year split. If you have an early or a late car and want the fit confirmed before you order, send us your registration or chassis details.
| Seat | Bolt pattern | Waist | Height | Weight | Price inc VAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recaro Sportster CS | 405 x 290 | All sizes | All heights | Not published | From £1,581.30 |
| Cobra Misano Anniversary | 291 x 330 | 32 to 38in | All heights | 11.5kg | From £1,649.00 |
| Sparco SPR | 345 x 271 | All sizes | All heights | Not published | £1,858.94 |
| Bride GIAS III | Not published | 32 to 38in | All heights | Not published | £2,271.36 |
| Sparco SPX | 345 x 271 | 32 to 38in | All heights | Not published | From £2,815.79 |
Prices include VAT and were correct on 15 August 2026. Where a weight says not published, the manufacturer does not give one and we will not guess it. Waist and height figures are the manufacturers’ published fitment ranges, if you are on a boundary, ask us before ordering.
Not on a standard floor. Both frames bolt to the factory seat mounting points. Torque the floor bolts properly and check the seat belt buckle clearance before you drive, because a sport seat often sits the buckle somewhere new.
No. The Cobra subframe is built around the 291mm x 330mm pattern, so on this page only the Cobra Misano fits it. The two Sparcos are 345mm and the Recaro is 405mm, and all three need the Planted bracket with the runner that suits them.
Because the car is. We sell reclining seats from about three hundred pounds, and they are the right answer in plenty of cars, but a Gallardo interior shows up a cheap seat immediately. These five are the ones we would be happy to see in one. If you want the value end of the range instead, ring us and we will talk you through it.
Very likely, and we will confirm it before you order. It is a base mount reclining seat and the Planted bracket is a flat plate, but our listing does not publish a bolt pattern for it and BRIDE rails are made for Japanese cars, so we check this one against the seat instead of assuming.
The Cobra Misano at 11.5kg, and it is the only one of the five that publishes a weight. The Sparco SPX is around 12kg on Sparco own figures. Nobody buys a Gallardo seat for the weight saving, but if it matters to you those are the two.
Yes on all five. The Sparco SPX lists driver and passenger side separately, which makes a pair straightforward, and the others are ordered per seat. Tell us you want two and we will make sure the trim matches across both.
If it were my money: the Recaro Sportster CS is where I would start, because it is the cheapest of the five and it is the one people sit in and stop looking any further. The Cobra Misano if you want the lightest seat here and the cheapest route into the car, since it is the only one that will take the Cobra subframe as well as the Planted bracket.
The Sparco SPR if you want competition shell support and still want to drive home in it, and the Bride GIAS III if the cabin is the point and you want something nobody else at the meet will have. If the question is simply which is the best seat we can put in a Gallardo, it is the Sparco SPX, and it is priced accordingly.
Ring 0115 9893488 with the car and how you use it and Cameron will tell you which of the five he would put in it, and which frame and runner go underneath.
The five reclining sport seats we rate for the SEAT Toledo Mk3, with the Cobra direct-fit subframe that bolts each one straight to the factory floor mounting points.
The five reclining sport seats we rate for the SEAT Toledo Mk2, with the Cobra subframe route that bolts each one straight to the PQ34 floor’s factory mounting points.
The five reclining sport seats we rate for the Seat Toledo Mk1, with the Cobra and Sparco frame routes that bolt each one straight to the factory mounting points.
All ten Corbeau Tartan FIA shells and the four Lotus ones, with the dimensions off the Corbeau drawings, what Standard and XL actually change, and the M10 side mounts that hold them in.
The five reclining sport seats we rate for the BMW 3 Series [E30], with the Planted Technology bracket and Sparco or Recaro runner routes that bolt each one straight to the factory floor mounting points.
All eight Corbeau Tartan reclining sport seats, with the dimensions off the Corbeau drawings, why every price is a pair, and which one suits which car.
