Xerjoff MV Agusta is the 2020 fragrance the Italian house built with motorcycle manufacturer MV Agusta to celebrate the brand’s 75th anniversary, and it leans into that partnership harder than most celebrity or automotive collabs ever manage. It was sold as a limited, largely website-exclusive release, and with the partnership now over it has become genuinely hard to find. That scarcity matters when you are deciding whether to hunt down a bottle or settle for the one credible clone.
What Does Xerjoff MV Agusta Smell Like?
The opening does not ease you in. Calabrian bergamot arrives bright but gets dragged straight into a harsh, bitter duo with clove, and alongside the leather accord it produces something close to a new car interior doused in gasoline. Several community reviewers use words like rubber, motor oil and asphalt, and one compares the first half hour to a very strong, bitter Fahrenheit. This phase is the reason the fragrance splits opinion so sharply. If you want safe and clean, this is not it.
The drydown is where the quality shows. Frankincense builds a smoky frame while iris and ylang-ylang soften everything into something buttery and faintly powdery, almost creamy against the leather. In the base, musk, labdanum, tonka bean and patchouli add a resinous, gently sweet warmth that lasts for hours. Some wearers hear echoes of Tobacco Oud in the middle stage. The overall impression moves from aggressive racing garage to refined suede jacket, which is a far more interesting arc than the opening suggests.
Performance
Performance is the strongest argument for owning this. Community ratings put longevity near 9 out of 10, and realistic reports land between 8 and 12 hours on skin, with several reviewers finding it still present after a shower the next morning. Projection is equally assertive for the first two to three hours, easily filling a room before it settles into a moderate sillage. One spray is plenty. Two becomes an event. This is a cold-weather evening scent by design, and wearing it in summer heat or a small office will make you the topic of conversation whether you like it or not.
Best Clone Or Alternative
Dua Start Your Engines! is the obvious answer, because it is not a coincidence. The Dua Brand openly markets it as its version of MV Agusta and lists the same core notes: Calabrian bergamot, clove oil, olibanum, ylang-ylang, leather accord, musks, tonka beans and Patchouli Coeur. It comes as a 33 percent extrait in a 34ml bottle for $36 direct from Dua, roughly a third of what a 50ml of the original costs from remaining stock, such as the £107.95 listing at The Scent Sampler. Similarity sits around 80 percent: the petrol-leather signature and the sweet floral drydown are both there, but the original is smoother through the heart and feels better blended. The practical catch is availability, since Dua sells directly and the fragrance cycles through restocks, so you may need patience or a restock alert.
When To Wear It
Fall and winter evenings are the natural habitat. Think night outs, dinners, special occasions, outdoor events where a big leather scent can breathe. It suits someone arriving rather than someone sitting through meetings. In tight indoor spaces, apply lightly or choose something else entirely.
Who Should Buy It
Leather fragrance fans who enjoy challenging scents with a dirty, mechanical streak will get the most from it. If you like Fahrenheit, Tabac Blond, Tom Ford Tobacco Oud or anything described as rubbery and smoky, this hits a similar nerve with real polish underneath. Collectors who regret skipping discontinued niche releases also have a genuine reason to chase remaining bottles.
Who Should Skip It
If your rotation lives in fresh, sweet or crowd-pleasing territory, skip it. The opening can read medicinal or like cleaning product on first contact, and reviewers who rated it lowest describe exactly that. Anyone who needs a versatile daily scent should look elsewhere, because versatility here is weak by any honest measure.
Final Verdict
MV Agusta is a demanding, well-built leather fragrance with elite longevity and a personality that divides rooms. At full retail it was always a statement purchase; now that it is discontinued, inflated resale prices weaken its value further. For most buyers, Dua Start Your Engines! delivers the experience for a fraction of the cost, and the original only makes sense if you find it near list price and truly love rough-edged leather scents.