By day the Interiors in Motion Business Unit of high-end Italian furniture firm Poltrona Frau creates the plush seating for supercars, yachts and first-class airline cabins but with the Ducati XDiavel Nero it’s turned its hand to two wheels.
Developed as Ducati’s latest limited-production special, the XDiavel Nera lives up to its name with a combination of gloss and matt black paintwork, including gloss black wheels, which allows the Poltrona Frau leather saddle to stand out in contrast. The seat might not normally be a component that you spend much time looking at, but the XDiavel Nera’s is covered in Poltrona Frau’s ‘Pelle Frau’ leather, created using a special tanning process and hand finished in a choice of five colours, making it rather more exotic than the average bike saddle.
If you’re one of the 500 customers to secure an XDiavel Nera, you’re faced with the decision about seat colour. There’s ‘Siam Red’, the brightest option on offer and one that ties in with the Ducati Red finish on the XDiavel’s brake calipers and cylinder head covers. ‘Steel Blue’ offers a more subdued look, with a grey-blue hue, while ‘Cemento’ is a pure grey.
The ‘India’ option is a deep tan colour, and finally there’s ‘Selva’ – Italian for forest – which is a very dark green. Whichever colour you opt for, you get a keyring and a document holder in matching leather to go with it.
Regardless of colour, the seats are laser-engraved with an ‘X’ pattern to reflect the fact they’re fitted to an XDiavel. The seat itself is a wider, comfort saddle, and there’s a matching backrest.
Giovanni Maiolo, Poltrona Frau Interiors in Motion Business Unit Director, said: “There is great satisfaction for the work done together with Ducati on the XDiavel Nera. We are proud to be part of this 100% Italian project that has fascinated us from the very beginning and has given us the opportunity to once again demonstrate our know-how and our ability to design in co-design projects by combining innovation and craftsmanship.”
Spec-wise, the XDiavel Nera is the same as the standard model, with a 160hp version of Ducati’s 1262cc, variable-valve-timed Testastretta DVT V-twin, which puts its power and 94pbft of torque through a massive 240-section rear tyre.
It’s Ducati’s only real cruiser, but we’ve always been astounded by the XDiavel’s ability in corners, not least the fact it can reach 40-degrees of lean before anything touches down.
As usual for a Ducati, there’s a host of electronic rider aids, from cornering ABS to traction control, launch control and cruise control, not to mention a selection of riding modes, while convenience comes in the form of keyless ignition.
Andrea Ferraresi, Director of the Centro Stile Ducati, said: “The XDiavel Nera project was born from the encounter between two Italian excellences. Ducati and Poltrona Frau are two brands with a unique history, they share a passion for beauty and well-made objects, they are strongly Italian and make craftsmanship a distinctive element, always supporting it with sophisticated technological solutions and the use of high-quality materials. The XDiavel Nera perfectly summarizes the values that unite Ducati and Poltrona Frau. It is a unique motorcycle with an unmistakable identity, a splendid expression of the excellence of Made in Italy.”
You can order the bike immediately, complete with your choice of seat colour, and Ducati expects to start deliveries in March.
