Celebrating Legacy: Poltrona Frau and Ferrari

Since 1986, two names at the apex of Italian design have come together in what has been called “the perfect marriage”: Poltrona Frau and Ferrari. Sharing a similar vision of providing excellence, as well as the research and refinement down to the finest detail, Ferrari approached Poltrona Frau in the winter of 2016 with the idea of creating an office chair for Ferrari’s 70th anniversary in 2017. The team at Poltrona Frau was already confident it could create luxury seating that would live up to the Ferrari legacy. The result? The Cockpit executive office chair.

“Every single detail has been designed anew in order to have something that is absolutely original in the marketplace,” said Nicola Coropulis, brand director at Poltrona Frau. “There are many office chairs that have the inspiration or roots in the automobile world, in the car environment, but this is the first and only that has been conceived by working together on an original project.

“There were many inspirations to the design,” he continued. “For example, if you look at the base of the armchair, it is a five-spoke base. This base actually replicates the internal part of the wheels of a Ferrari sports car. The main inspiration [was trying] to blend two things that are really unique.”

Designed with the Ferrari-loving businessperson in mind, Poltrona Frau wanted the final product to make the user feel as if they are in the driver’s seat from the comfort of the office. Every feature had to be perfectly crafted, including using the same fiberglass interior shell that is integrated into car seating. “The real beauty is when you don’t understand the complexity behind it,” Coropulis noted.

For Ferrari’s 70th anniversary, the company went to frequent collaborator Poltrona Frau to design an office chair that brought the luxury and aesthetic of the brand indoors. “We were told when we started working on the first prototypes that there are lots of Ferrari fans and collectors who purchase the car seat of real Ferraris and they actually put them on wheels or bases,” explained Nicola Coropulis, brand director, Poltrona Frau. “So the idea was to provide this large group of Ferrari collectors with official luxury seating.” ►

◄ The history of collaboration between Poltrona Frau and Ferrari was essential when it came to the development timeline. “The first idea was launched early 2016 and the first drawings were seen around April or May 2016, Coropulis said. “By July, we entered an almost final design [from] which we worked out the prototype.”

“Every single detail has been designed anew in order to have something that is absolutely original in the marketplace,” Coropulis noted. “This is the first and only [chair] that has been conceived by working together on an original project.”

Ferrari has always stood at the pinnacle of Italian innovation, inspiring fans and collectors to buy into the brand. In addition to luxury automobiles, Ferrari offers ancillary goods like hats, keychains, and office chairs.

Produced using automotive-grade fiberglass, the Cockpit Chair mimics the curves and classic aesthetic of a Ferrari. “I dream that the people sitting in a Cockpit Chair would feel the same feeling as if they were driving a Ferrari car,” Coropulis said.