i have an 89 xjs v12, with the sporty(ish) seats.

from everything i read, it seems like these were at least in some parts leather.

however, to the best of my eyeballs and finger-touching ability, i would swear they were vinyl.

is it possible they're just so old and dirty and poorly cared for that they just appear to be petrified? or was leather only an option for 89 v12s?

or maybe someone went through the trouble of reupholstering with vinyl.

 

All USA market XJSs came with leather as standard issue...although the amount of leather used, and where, varied over the years. Non-leather areas are vinyl.

Elsewhere in the world choices included fabric and/or fabric-leather combinations.

I've never heard of one being built with all vinyl trim.

Cheers
DD

 

Doesn't mean the original seats weren't trashed over the years, and someone didn't reupholster in vinyl to save $$.