Ferrari's design team has created an office chair for Italian brand Poltrona Frau that resembles the driver's seat of a sports car.

Shown at Milan design week, the Cockpit chair comes in two versions – the President, which features a higher backrest based on racing seats, and the Executive, which is more scoop-shaped and has a lower support.

The process was headed up by Ferarri's head of design Flavio Manzoni, who oversees all aspects of design for the brand's cars, including bodywork and interior trims.

Both chairs have been designed to envelop the body which, according to Poltrona Frau, captures the "excitement, speed and dynamism" of being behind the wheel.

The sports car reference is further emphasised in the addition of a single stripe down the centre of the President chair, as well as the upholstering materials – which are same as those found in Ferrari's cars.

Its cast aluminium spoked base is also a nod to mechanisms found in steering wheels.

"The idea that Ferrari proposed to us was to bring the emotions that one feels while driving a Ferrari car into a seat that could fit a working environment," Poltrona Frau general manager Nicola Coropulis told Dezeen.

"The choice of a chair was quite natural," added Coropulis. "We avoided just putting some wheels under a Ferrari car seat, and we created an object that is unique on its own."

Poltrona Frau is no stranger to big-name collaborations, having previously released furniture by fashion designer Alexander Wang, and created a system of seating with the late Zaha Hadid.

Milan design week saw several high profile brands unveil new furniture, with Sawaya & Moroni showing a mushroom-like chair created by Ma Yansong and Cassina releasing a "programmable" stool designed by Carlo Ratti.