At today’s event @ Chrissy Field in SF, I had the opportunity to talk with Jerome G, and get a close look at his personal (well..corporate with MFG tags) red P85+ (debadged). He was very generous and gracious with his time, and fairly candid. He noted that essentially every new feature/add-on/update/retrofit gets put on his S early (he really is on the bleeding/alpha edge), with all of the attendant woes and benefits. He has tested tires (original Contis, new Michelins), suspension upgrades, parking sensors, power folding mirrors, and so on.
I asked about the parking distance control system, and the possibility of retrofits. He in fact had them retrofitted into his personal S. There are many significant issues, and this will not ever be offered as an ‘advertised’, mainstream upgrade.
Here is a rear view of his S (bad photo):
First, there is the technical and cosmetic issue about making holes in the front and rear bumper fascia. In his opinion, trying to create holes in the painted bumper fascia is fraught with cosmetic issues, with paint flaking and a subtle uneven appearance to the openings. In forward production, they use a sonic system to make a very precise clean hole without disrupting the paint. Also, in the retrofit, the mounting system to the fascia apparently needs to be different than the system used in forward production, and he was/is unhappy with the fitment. He showed me the cosmetic result on his personal S, and I agree that it just does not look perfect.
More significant is the wiring harness. Older production vehicles do not have the necessary wiring. Even current production, depending on the ‘build list’, might not have the proper wiring for a retrofit (apparently they do use different harnesses and wiring looms depending on options ordered). In some instances, he noted that doing a retrofit would be essentially impossible due to the complexity of rewiring the chassis.
Jerome did not rule out the possibility of individual owners asking if TM would (for essentially any price) in fact do a retrofit, but IMHO this will never show up as a ‘factory approved’ option.
I think that if you are waiting for this, and you must have parking sensors, find a local installer/customizer and decide if aftermarket will work for you. Also note that one TMC contributor is working on a retrofit front bumper camera (identical to the existing rear camera) that might be an easier better option for S owners who are concerned about front bumper damage.
Sorry for the bad news.
