The Astra Mk2 GTE had a rough couple of decades. Bangernomics wrote most of them off long before anyone thought about keeping one, and the survivors usually made it through by being treated as cheap transport rather than an eighties hot hatch worth saving. That has changed in the last few years, and everyone doing a proper resurrection runs into the same problem: the factory buckets have gone through, the foam has collapsed, and the seat sits you higher than the car’s low glasshouse suggests it should. A recliner on the right frame fixes that without touching the shape that made the GTE worth saving in the first place.
Most people bringing us an Astra Mk2 fall into two camps. One is finishing off a genuine restoration and wants a seat that will not look out of place against a period dashboard. The other picked theirs up cheap, has already put work into the mechanicals, and wants something that will actually hold them in place if they take it to a sprint or a track day. Both routes go through the same two frames.
We stock a fitting frame for the Astra Mk2 from both of the two brands we rate for a base-mount recliner, and between them they cover every seat in this guide. A frame is the vehicle specific base that bolts to the floor in place of the standard runners, and it sets your final seat height and setback. Which one you buy decides which seats you can run, so this choice comes first, before you fall for a seat online and find out afterwards that it will not bolt in.
Part SU-VX-AS2, £231.66 inc VAT. Sold individually, one frame per seat. Pairs with 291mm runners and takes the Le Mans, the Daytona and the Corbeau.
Part 00499048, from £86.68 inc VAT a side. Sold individually, RHD driver and passenger listed separately. Requires your original runners in the base. Pairs with the R100, the GT and the Corbeau.
Every reclining seat we sell bolts down through a base mount pattern, and on this car there are two that matter. Sparco recliners use 345mm x 271mm, which is what the Sparco subframe is built around. Cobra seats use a different pattern again, 291mm x 330mm, and it does not line up with the Sparco subframe. The Corbeau Sportline RRS Low Base is drilled for both, which is why it bolts straight to either frame. For everything else, you need to have already picked your frame before you order the seat.
| Seat | Bolt pattern | Cobra subframe | Sparco subframe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sparco R100 | 345 x 271 | No | Fits |
| Corbeau Sportline RRS Low Base | 291 or 345 | Fits | Fits |
| Cobra Le Mans | 291 x 330 | Fits | No |
| Cobra Daytona | 291 x 330 | Fits | No |
| Sparco GT | 345 x 271 | No | Fits |
The R100 is the recliner we sell more of than any other, and on a restoration budget it is usually the sensible starting point. It is a compact seat with an open, flat base, which suits the Mk2’s narrow footwell and makes climbing in and out of a three door easier than a heavily bolstered seat would. Sparco lists it as suitable for all waist sizes and both over and under six foot, which matches what we see on the counter: it is a hard seat to be the wrong shape for. Fabric or vinyl trim, both at the same price, so pick whichever suits the rest of the interior.
The RRS Low Base is the seat to pick if you have not settled on a frame yet, because it is drilled for both 291mm and 345mm and bolts straight to either subframe. It is sold as a pair, driver and passenger, which suits an Astra Mk2 more often than not, since a lot of these cars get done as a matching set rather than one seat at a time. The Low Base cut also buys back headroom under the Mk2’s fairly low roofline, which the standard RRS eats into on a taller driver. The backrest is Corbeau’s sculpted shape rather than a smoother profile, worth knowing if you have sat in both.
The Le Mans is the seat I point people at when the Astra is doing more than the school run, sprints, the odd track evening, anything where the standard seat’s lack of shoulder support starts to matter. The bolsters are considerably deeper than the R100’s flat base, so your body stays put mid-corner instead of sliding across the vinyl. It is built to order through Cobra’s trim range, spacer fabric, vinyl or leather, with optional heating and lumbar if you want them, so you can match it to whatever the rest of the cabin is doing. This one only goes on with the Cobra subframe, since the Sparco pattern does not match.
If the rest of the car is going for a period-correct look rather than a modern track build, the Daytona is worth a look before the Le Mans. It carries an older, flatter silhouette that reads right against an eighties dashboard, and Cobra still builds it to order in the same trim range: spacer fabric, vinyl or leather, heating and lumbar as options. It is a slightly taller seat than the Le Mans, 865mm against 820mm, so check headroom if your Mk2 already has a roll cage or a lowered ride height. Same pattern as the Le Mans, so it shares the Cobra subframe and 291mm runners.
The GT is the one I would put in a genuinely tidy, low mileage Mk2 that is staying close to standard. It has the low, close-fitting shape that period cars actually suit, rather than the wider modern buckets built around taller, broader drivers, and the Houndstooth trim option looks right at home against an eighties cloth interior. The trade-off is fit: Sparco publish this one as 32 to 36 inch waist and under six foot, noticeably tighter than everything else in this guide, so try before you buy if you are close to either limit. Pair it with the R100 or the Corbeau elsewhere in the car if a passenger or a second driver falls outside that window.
Both frames bolt to the Astra Mk2’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 thing worth flagging: the Sparco subframe requires your original runners in its base rather than shipping complete, so budget for the runner kit alongside it either way.
| Your seat | Runners to order | Works on |
|---|---|---|
| Sparco R100 or GT | Sparco sliding runner kit, £78.00 the pair | Sparco subframe |
| Corbeau RRS Low Base | Corbeau 291mm or 345mm runners depending on frame, £117.60 the pair | Cobra subframe or Sparco subframe |
| Cobra Le Mans or Daytona | Cobra 291mm sliding runners, £117.60 the pair | Cobra subframe |
The Sparco subframe covers the Astra Mk2 built from November 1984 to June 1991. If your registration falls outside that window, check with us before ordering, since a facelift or a later model year can move the mounting points.
| Seat | Bolt pattern | Waist | Height | Weight | Price inc VAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sparco R100 | 345 x 271 | All sizes | Over and under 6ft | Not published | £282.00 |
| Corbeau RRS Low Base | 291 or 345 | 32 to 38in | All heights | Not published | £984.00 (pair) |
| Cobra Le Mans | 291 x 330 | 32 to 38in | All heights | 13.4kg | From £619.00 |
| Cobra Daytona | 291 x 330 | 32 to 38in | All heights | 13.5kg | From £599.00 |
| Sparco GT | 345 x 271 | 32 to 36in | Under 6ft | Not published | From £505.90 |
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 two patterns do not match: Cobra seats use 291mm x 330mm, Sparco seats use 345mm x 271mm. The Corbeau Sportline RRS Low Base is the exception, drilled for both, so it bolts to either frame.
Every seat in this guide is listed by its manufacturer as 4 point compatible, with belt slots in the backrest. If you are planning harnesses, tell us when you order and we will make sure the whole setup works together.
It is listed as a pair, driver and passenger seat together, which is why the figure looks higher than a single Cobra or Sparco seat. If you only need one, ask us about pricing a single Corbeau before you order the pair.
Some owners prefer a fixed-back bucket over a recliner, particularly on a car built for track days rather than the road. We have fitted Corbeau Clubsport bucket seats to an Astra before, using an OMP direct-fit subframe rather than the Cobra or Sparco routes in this guide. Worth a read if you are weighing up a bucket against a recliner.
If it were my money: the R100 on the Sparco frame for a budget restoration, because it does most of the job for the least outlay. The RRS Low Base if you are doing driver and passenger together and are not certain which frame you want yet, since it keeps both open. The Le Mans on the Cobra subframe if the car is doing sprints or track evenings and you want it built around you in your own trim, and the Daytona instead if you would rather the seat looked like it came from the same decade as the car. The GT is the one for a genuinely period-correct build, provided you or your regular driver actually fit its window, under six foot and 32 to 36 inch waist. It is not a seat to guess your way into.
Every combination above uses parts that bolt straight to the Astra Mk2’s factory mounting points. If you are between two of these seats, or between sizes, get in touch with your height and waist measurement and we will talk it through before you spend anything.
Ring us with the car and your pick and we will confirm the seat, frame and runners in one go before you order. It is a five minute conversation and it saves buying a combination that does not line up.
The five reclining sport seats we rate for the Vauxhall Astra (Kadett) Mk3, with the Cobra adaption subframe route and runner guide that bolts each one to the factory mounting points.
A fibreglass shell has one fixed lumbar curve and no dial to change it. An inflatable pad behind the velcro backrest cushion gives you an adjustable one for about thirty pounds, and the same trick works on most fibreglass seats.
The five reclining sport seats we rate for the Porsche 996, with the Cobra and Planted Technology frame routes that bolt each one straight to the factory mounting points.
The five reclining sport seats we rate for the Vauxhall Astra Mk3 GSI, with the Cobra direct fit subframe route (runner included) and compatibility chart for every seat in the guide.
An E82 135i owner asked which sliding runners mount Recaro Sportster CS seats to the car. The answer: the Planted Technology SB139 bracket at £224.95 a side plus the Recaro double locking runner set at £365.40, and the same stack carries the Recaro Speed.
There is no standard seat bolt pattern. Every pattern across the brands we sell, drawn to scale: the shared Sparco and OMP holes, the Corbeau double drilling, the Recaro lock, Cobra designed sets, BRIDE rail types and the measurements that settle any seat before you buy.
