Museo Nicolis - Diatto “type 20 A”

The “Società Automobili Diatto-A. Clément” was born in Turin in 1905 by Vittorio and Pietro Diatto, sons of Giovanni Battista who founded a big company of railway material, later took over by Fiat in 1918. The Diatto oval badge, white lettering on a red background, appeared in 1909, after the Diatto brothers took over Clement’s participation in the company. It’s interesting to note the similarity between the Diatto and Bugatti‘s logo.
During WWI Diatto built plane engines under Bugatti license and in 1919 launched a new car, the Tipo 30, made again under Bugatti license. Another prestigious meeting in Diatto’s history was the one with Alfieri Maserati, talented driver and founder of the homonymous company, that with the “20/S” model won many races and participated to the designing of the 8-cylinder Diatto racecar. In 1927 la Diatto participated with one of their cars at the first Mille Miglia, and in 1929 the company stopped making cars.
The car displayed at the Museum is a formal family torpedo, with rear brakes only, a characteristic that will soon disappear after the late 20s.