Paris, Pabanel and the Bugatti Diatto - 1919-1921

The Diatto Bugatti 30

October 9-19, 1919, Paris Motor Show. A 16-valve Bugatti built in Turin and presented as the Diatto Tipo 30. Alessandro Silva Archive.

At the 1919 Paris Motor Show, the novelty of the Diatto stand was the Model 30. It was a car built on a Bugatti Type 13 chassis with 16 valves, a lightweight and fast machine, compact in size, developed by Bugatti since 1909, periodically updated, and with a highly respectable racing record. And in fact, "The Masters of the Lightweight Car" was the title (1) used to define the stand that united the two names of Bugatti and Diatto. The strengthening of the relationship between them, magnified with the pompous rhetoric typical of the time, also seemed to be confirmed by the Turin-based company's trademark, already in use for some years but registered in June 1919: oval in shape, entirely similar to the Bugatti one. Previously, the trademark was round, with the words Diatto Torino inscribed inside.

Along with the 30, stand 60 also featured the 25 HP 4DC, a sports model of the 25 HP,

A beautiful 4DC with a landaulet body, the same model but a different version than the one exhibited at the Paris Motor Show. We're in Turin, presumably in 1919. Giovanni Bossi Automotive Archive.

with an 85 x 120 mm engine, 2,724 cc displacement, equipped with "a complete electrical system for lighting and starting." It was an evolution of the Tipo Unico built from 1911 onwards, now advertised as the result of the union of "the most enlightened science and the most reliable experience in automotive and aviation mechanics," "the most beautiful, fastest, and most elegant of lightweight vehicles."

According to reports in the specialized press, the cars were warmly welcomed. The whole of Paris crowded into the stand: "The most aristocratic ladies, the most elegant ladies of Paris, from Princess Murat to Madame Gould, lit up with their admiring smiles the interiors of those delightful nests, those dazzling masterpieces of grace and furnishings." (2)

The star of the show was the Tipo 30 in a particularly refined internal-drive version, which, with its elegant velvets and decorations, seemed to be inspired by eighteenth-century sedan chairs. It was the protagonist of a sort of contest, and its price reached 80,000 French francs (€114,000 today).
A second interior, this time more soberly padded in gray cloth, and a four-seater torpedo in leather completed the Tipo 30's offering.

Leaflet created for the 1919 Paris Salon. Above: the location of the Diatto stand (n. 60) on the map of the Grand-Palais. Below: the main technical characteristics of the Diatto-Bugatti Type 30. Giovanni Bossi Automotive Archive.

But the 4DC, a coupé, also received good press: especially for its vaunted low fuel consumption, a factor of no small importance for the postwar period. A fifth car was available for test drives outside the Show.

All five cars exhibited at the Show had been built by the new body shop, located in rooms adjacent to the workshops on Via Fréjus (3). And for the first time, the press emphasized how much the success of a model with the female public could favorably influence the market, and therefore how important female customers would become from then on, "a great field to exploit." This advantage was even more readily available if the manufacturing company provided its own bodies, as Diatto was now able to do. It was a detail also highlighted by the French press: “Signalons que la Diatto a sa propre carrosserie et vraiment les modèles qu’elle présente à Paris sont absolument remarquables et ses conduites intérieures d’un gout exquis.” (4).

The agreement with the eternal Pabanel

From the 1914 French-language catalog of the 16/20 HP 4D.V. Drawing of the Diatto body shop. Giovanni Bossi Automotive Archive.

The presentation of this model was the result of an agreement between Diatto and its agent for France and Belgium, Louis Pabanel, which materialized in early 1920 with the purchase of 48 Bugatti Type 27 (5) chassis complete with 16-valve engines. The agent undertook to complete their outfitting with radiators, hoods, and bodywork from Diatto.
Pabanel also purchased from Diatto two of the three cars exhibited at the 1919 Motor Show. He had already sold a chassis with an old 66 x 100 mm 8-valve engine as a Diatto in May 1919, thus bringing the total number to 51 cars. It should also be noted that not all the chassis included in the supply were built as stipulated in the agreement, but rather bodied in original Bugatti form and sold as Diatto-Bugatti (this can be deduced from the factory records, and a well-known example of this will be given later). No contractual documentation has ever emerged, regarding this agreement between Diatto and Pabanel, but the chronological sequence of events places its stipulation necessarily before mid-1919, immediately followed by the order for the supply.

In fact, Bugatti, having returned to Molsheim at the beginning of that year, had already returned the raw materials, machines, and drawings transferred to Paris during the war, so as to resume production as quickly as possible. As early as March 1919, 100 workers were at work. The supply to Pabanel was spread out throughout 1920.

It was in Pabanel's interest to have in its catalog a model somehow linked to the Diatto factory that would be attractive to the French market, which was oriented toward lightweight, high-performance vehicles. This quality could not be found in the large Diatto 4D models, which, moreover, were of pre-war origin, being a direct descendant of the 25 HP. It was also of interest to Diatto, in the midst of post-war restructuring and corporate turmoil, not to have to set up a new production unit, especially since they also had the project for the Gnome small car, later the Tipo 10, underway. In this way, it found the opportunity to gain a foothold in the market for sporty vehicles. Furthermore, the simultaneous sale of a substantial number of chassis could only benefit Bugatti, which had simultaneously invested significantly in new, state-of-the-art machinery to make the Molsheim factory as independent as possible from external suppliers.

That this was a commercially successful move for everyone is demonstrated by the fact that Pabanel ran out of supply between May and December 1920, as shown by the company's sales records.
Almost all the Diatto "Tipo 30" cars were sold in France: only a few arrived in Italy, and they were mainly destined for racing.

Unfortunately, it is a widespread opinion in the literature (6) that the basis of the agreement was the sale of a manufacturing license by Bugatti to Diatto, along the lines of those granted, for example, to the English agency Jarrott & Letts in 1919 and to the German company called "Rheinische Automobilbau-AG – Deutsche Gesellschaft für die Licenz E. Bugatti (Rabag)" (later to become RABAG) in 1920.
For Diatto, however, it was a direct commercial relationship between the company and its agent, who actually took care of completing the chassis assembly built by Bugatti and then their subsequent sale, so much so that Bugatti retained the right to put its own brand on the vehicles.
The advertising and catalogs for the Diatto Tipo 30, which explicitly mentioned the "Bugatti license," certainly did not help clarity.

Diatto and Diatto-Bugatti in racing overview of Race Results
As seen (7), a Bugatti appeared in the first postwar Italian race: it was Abele Clerici's Tipo 25, with which the Milanese driver raced until 1921. It has already been demonstrated that this car cannot be part of the Pabanel-Diatto-Bugatti contract. At the beginning of 1920, on March 9th to be precise, Pabanel sold to Meo Costantini (8) a Tipo 27 with short wheelbase, chassis no. 929, which was actually part of the contract. The car was registered in Milan with license plate 38-9369. Various photographs from the period show that the car had not received a Diatto radiator or hood, at least until after the Garda race on May 5, 1921. Indeed, there is a photo of a Bugatti with a Diatto body with Costantini at the wheel bearing the aforementioned registration number.

Around the same time, a Tipo 13 appeared in Milan with a 16-valve 66 x 100 mm engine owned by Eugenio Silvani (9), with registration number 38-7304. It made its racing debut at the Parma-Poggio di Berceto race on May 5, 1920, in which Silvani brilliantly won the class, thanks to the involvement of Giulio Cesare Cappa (10), who oversaw extensive modifications and preparation of the car, carried out by mechanic Alfredo Botta (11) in Silvani's workshop. The car proved to be the fastest in the 1,500 class, beating the factory Bugattis driven by Michele Baccoli (12) and Costantini.

The two cars reappeared simultaneously at the Parma-Poggio di Berceto on May 8, 1921. The surprise is that Silvani's car (which, remember, was not part of the Pabanel supply) was now equipped with a Diatto radiator and hood, but there is no explanation for this.

22 May 1921, Garda Circuit. The departure of Meo Costantini (left) on Diatto-Bugatti, bodied like Bugatti and on the right Eugenio Silvani on Bugatti, with bodywork like Diatto-Bugatti. A puzzle for historians, albeit some believe Silvani's car (2A) is actually a Diatto-Bugatti. Fondazione Negri.

Silvani subsequently finished first overall at the Garda Circuit on May 22, with Costantini second, beating the larger cars, since it was a race reserved for cars up to two liters.

Meanwhile, Costantini, impressed by Silvani's speed, had his car modified, also under Cappa's supervision. It is likely that the "Diatto-style" body modifications were made on this occasion.

On August 21 and 28, 1921, a Diatto Bugatti won the 1,500cc Corsa class at the Susa-Moncenisio and Aosta-Gran San Bernardo races, respectively. The car was driven by Franz Conelli, a fast gentleman driver from Novara. The chronological sequence of the races strongly supports the hypothesis that his car was the one originally owned by Costantini and later modified. In fact, there are no other records of imports by Pabanel to Italy, and Conelli's car was described as having undergone various modifications, including a very special front axle, a substantial lightening of the overall weight, particularly of the pistons, and an exhaust pipe at the height of the manifolds. With this car, Franz Conelli won the two-liter race of the Gentleman's Grand Prix in Brescia on September 11, 1921. After the flying kilometer qualifying race on September 7, the 2,000 class drivers, won by Conelli with a speed of 119.6 km/h, had a race separate from that of the larger cars on September 10. Conelli easily won against the two-liter cars at a remarkable average speed of 109.1 km/h. Some Diatto-Bugattis also raced in France during 1921 in important races. The results are cited in the appendix tables.

September 12, 1921, Gentleman's GP, 2-liter category, Brescia. Winner Franz Conelli in Diatto-Bugatti No. 5 before the start. From left, in the foreground, Nando Minoia, Franz Conelli in a gray suit, while Ettore Bugatti with a colonial hat points to something. On the far right, Tazio Nuvolari with his back turned, next to the Ansaldo No. 3. Alessandro Silva Archive.

As for the participation in races of the Diatto production models, the 1921 racing season started very early, with the Vermicino-Rocca di Papa race in January. Domenico Gamboni finished first in the up to 3,000 cc class and third overall; his teammate was none other than Baroness Maria Antonietta Avanzo (14), third in the same category. They raced two 25 HP 4DC engines. "We take good omens from this very premature start of the season for a prompt recovery of the motoring industry, still shackled by the disproportionate taxes for which the promised refinement is awaited." (15)

At the Targa Florio on May 29, Giacinto Ghia, in the up to 3,000 cc class, never managed to break away from the last positions. Domenico Gamboni was very busy during 1921 but had to retire from the Targa Florio (photographs show him already behind the wheel of a 4DS surbaissée) and at Mugello (July 24), finishing lower in the standings at the Susa-Moncenisio (August 21) but finishing fourth overall at the Aosta-Gran San Bernardo (August 28). The 4DS, however, won, again with Gamboni, the Biella-Oropa hillclimb on July 17, 1921, a race of lower rank than the previous ones, with 11 km covered in 11 minutes and 41 seconds.

Finally, at the Criterium Automobilistico di Roma, on the climb from Frascati to Rocca di Papa, on October 15, Gamboni, driving a 4DS, again finished first overall. Stampa Sportiva wrote: "This victory, while providing us with further proof of the skill of the likeable driver, also serves to honor Diatto, which was able to obtain from its standard three-liter engine – with very slight adjustments – truly exceptional performance and flexibility, enough to allow a record like the one now set by Gamboni, which will be difficult to beat by cars of the same displacement." (16)

In Switzerland, at the Albis race on September 11, the main event of the motorsport season, Zurich agent Stocker entered a "Diattina" and a DS (four-cylinder engine 85 x 120 mm, displacement 2,722 cc).

July 17, 1921, Biella-Oropa. Domenico Gamboni in a Diatto 4DS surbaissée in action. He would win the race overall. (Photographer Giovanni Abba, Turin). National Automobile Museum, Turin.

The 1921 Motor Shows
At the 1921 Milan Motor Show, held from April 12th to 27th, Diatto presented two 10 HP taxi-bodied cars (building on the strength of the fuel consumption records set in the previous months), a torpedo on an extended 25 chassis, the 4DA, and a new model , the 4DS sports car with a torpedo body and rotating headlights. This was a racing car, perhaps the only one presented at the Show, built by the joint workforce of Diatto and Gnome under the direction of Edison Tirassa, Gnome's technical director. The 3,000 rpm engine (a special engine with steel pistons and dual ignition) produced 50 HP, capable of a speed between 130 and 140 km/h, on a short chassis with cantilever springs (surbaissé). In addition to these two cars, a 10 Torpedo was also on display.
At the end of the year, Diatto also exhibited at the Brussels Motor Show (December 3-14).

A Bugatti - Diatto

July 9, 1933, Varese-Campo dei Fiori. Alberto Comirato at the start of the trials, but he did not participate in the race. His old Bugatti was powered by a Diatto. Alessandro Silva Archive.

Not part of the Diatto-Bugatti Tipo 30 story, but interesting to mention here anyway:

The excellent Treviso driver Alberto Comirato (17), who almost always built his own racing cars, made his debut in 1932/33 with a special that mounted a two-liter, four-cylinder Diatto engine on an ancient Bugatti Type 23 chassis from the early 1920s. The operation would be incredible if it weren't for the photographs to document it.

The car participated in several races, including important ones (twice finishing second in class at the Bolzano- Mendola races in 1932 and 1933, among others) and was registered as a Diatto. The noble sporting career of the Turin brand was brilliantly concluded by this bizarre concoction with the overall victory in the Automobile Club of Treviso Championship on the Vittorio Veneto-Cansiglio on September 24, 1933.

Race Results
Listed are race results both for the 1920 and 1921 seasons. Besides the Diatto-Bugatti 30 also the 4DC (based on Diatto's type 25) are listed. "Corsa in salita" stands for Hill climb.

NOTES
1 Motori Aero Cicli & Sports, year XII, 15-22 October 1919 page 31. Title: "An Italian record. The Diatto cars at Paris Salon. The masters of the light car”.

2 Motori Aero Cicli & Sports, ibid.

3 The projects (Building Project no. 113 and no. 306) were presented in March and October 1915 by the engineer's construction company. Henry Faletti. However, they only entered into full swing after the war: Motori Aero Cicli & Sports talks about it, year XII, 15-22 October 1919, when was written that "While the work was more fervent for the transfer of its workshops and its processes from the regime of war to that of peace... Diatto did not hesitate to build new workshops and establish a whole new and impressive plant for the manufacture of bodywork.”

4 Le Monde Illustré, 18 October 1919, p. 792.

5 The numbering of Bugatti product types follows a strict consecutive order. The numbering of the progenitor of the chassis considered here, the Type 13, to which the subsequent Types 14, 15, 15A, 17, 19, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27 can be traced back, was also reused from 1910 to 1925 to identify different chassis, just to make the work of historians easier!

These chassis were fitted with engines ranging from 1,327 cc to 1,569 cc, with 4 cylinders, 8 valves and, later, 16 valves. The same type could be fitted with different engines; for example the initial Type 13 of 1910 was equipped with an 8-valve 65 x 100 mm (1,327 cc) or 65 x 110 mm (racing version, 1,460 cc). The Type 27 of 1919 was the basis of the supply to Diatto.
It had a touring type chassis evolution of Types 22 (short wheelbase) and 23 (long wheelbase) and both versions were included in the supply. The engine was the 16 valves 68 x 100 mm of 1,453 cc. However, rare Type 13 chassis (short wheelbase) also appear in the supply.

6 A widespread thesis among some brand scholars hypothesizes Pietro Diatto's shareholding in Bugatti or a personal involvement, to help Bugatti overcome the difficult post-war period, a move resulting from the great friendship that arose between the two: hence the purchase of the 48 frames. It seems difficult to agree on this hypothesis, because Pietro Diatto would not have been able to influence or direct the decisions of the Diatto management, which passed into the hands of the Gussi brothers. The years 1918 to 1923 and also afterwards they were of great economic and corporate instability for Turin society: the concern was unthinkable that of coming to the aid of another company.

7 The Diatto advertisement claiming this result was published in Motori Aero Cicli & Sports, Year XII, October 7-15, page 16. But it doesn't seem credible. The Bugatti Type 25 competed in the 1,501 cc to 3,000 cc class because it had a displacement of 1,569 cc. This model was produced in limited numbers before the war. Diatto-Bugatti sales records do not list any chassis equipped with an engine of this size.

8 Bartolomeo “Meo” Costantini (Vittorio Veneto, 14 February 1889 – Milan, 19 July 1941), raced with the Italian Eagle in 1914 and joined the air force during the war which ended as a fighter pilot of the Baracca Squadron with some victories on merit.
He dealt with car trade with France immediately after the war, coming into contact with Ettore Bugatti who called him to Molsheim with technical-commercial functions at the end of 1923, soon becoming the race director of the Brand and making his debut as a driver himself starting from the ACF Grand Prix of 1924.
Costantini maintained this position until the main responsibilities of the factory passed to Jean Bugatti. Returned to Milan at at the end of 1937, he assumed the same function at Alfa Romeo. He was considered the scapegoat for the bitter defeat of the Alfettas in Tripoli in 1939 by Mercedes and retired. An avid smoker, he died of lung cancer in 1941.
Meo Costantini was a very fast, elegant and composed driver. He raced little, but his track record as an official Bugatti driver is impressive. The victories at the Targa Florio in 1925 and 1926 made him famous. He also won the Spanish Grand Prix and the Milan Grand Prix in 1926, he was second at San Sebastian in 1924, at the 1926 Grand Prix de l'ACF and at the 1926 Italian Grand Prix and third at 1925 Italian Grand Prix and the 1926 European Grand Prix. He retired from racing at the end of 1926.

9 Eugenio Silvani (Milan, June 26, 1890 – Milan, December 5, 1960) was an interesting and dynamic figure: a technician, businessman, industrialist, driver, and successful automobile and motorboat record holder.
He was the director of the Garages Company of the Milan Automobile Club and a multi-brand agent, including Diatto, before the First World War, in which he participated, distinguishing himself as a naval officer.
He won the Tuscan Automobile Circuit (Mugello) in 1914 with a Diatto, returning to racing after the war until 1929. He achieved successes in 1919 and 1921 driving a famous Bugatti T13 imported by Meo Costantini and heavily modified to a design by Giulio Cesare Cappa, and an equally famous 12-cylinder Packard "sprint car," later sold to Maria Antonietta Avanzo. Due to his reputation as a technician, he was invited to join the official Steyr and Voisin teams between 1922 and 1923. During this period, he became the forerunner of the myriad of Italian manufacturers of special parts over the next 50 years, designing the "Silvani superculasse" to convert the Fiat 501's engine to overhead valves. This feat was highly successful and was replicated for other Fiat models such as the 519 and 520. The success of the superculasse was confirmed in 1925, when Silvani set numerous international long-distance records for the 1,500 cc class on the Monza track with a converted Fiat 501.
In the early 1930s, he began to engage in powerboat racing commercially. In 1938, he convinced the Royal Navy to use a Baglietto Isotta Fraschini motorboat, which he piloted to successfully set several international medium- and long-distance records, on this occasion covering more than 1,000 kilometers without refueling.
During this time, he had opened a luxurious showroom on Via Manzoni in Milan for his motorboat business, a business he maintained until his death.

10 Giulio Cesare Cappa. Designer of great value (Voghera, PV 28 April 1880 – Retorbido, PV 30 September 1955), graduated in mechanical industrial engineering at the Polytechnic of Turin. Co-founder and technical director of L'Aquila Italiano, he then moved to Fiat from 1914 to 1924, collaborating mainly on the design of Grand Prix cars.
He then opened his own design studio, which produced a myriad of projects for many companies in the mechanical sector. He was a technical consultant for Itala from 1924 to 1930, designing some of the brand's most beautiful cars.
In 1930, Cappa's technical design centre was hired by Ettore Bugatti to execute design work. The main result of this was the four-wheel-drive Bugatti Type 53. Collaboration would continue until 1937, with no results as tangible as the Type 53. Ed,

11 Alfredo Botta. Chief engineer at Eugenio Silvani's workshop, he collaborated on the construction of the SB car and then on the design of the famous Silvani supercar. In the early 1930s, he founded the BPM (Botta, Puricelli, Milan) marine engine factory, which still exists today, one of the very few factories in the world exclusively producing inboard marine engines.

12 Michele Baccoli (Anfo, Brescia, September 27, 1886 – ?). He worked at Bugatti in Molsheim from 1913, with responsibility for testing new chassis as assistant to chief mechanic Friderich until 1915. He then briefly joined Panhard and in 1916 reached Milan along with the cars that Ettore Bugatti wanted to keep away from the front.
Baccoli raced officially for Bugatti at Le Mans and Gallarate in 1920; at Garda and Brescia in 1921. He was then workshop manager and a co-owner of the Milanese agency importing the brand, located on Via Pietro Colletta in Milan.
After the agency closed, Baccoli opened a workshop on Via L. Muratori, also in Milan, which closed in June 1929, to work briefly for Citroën Italiana, before disappearing from the automotive world.

13 Franz (Francesco) Conelli de Prosperi (Belgirate, Novara, September 26, 1886 – ?). He was the brother of Grand Prix driver Caberto and was active in motor racing from 1919 to 1922. After his 1921 successes with the Diatto-Bugatti, in 1922 he switched to a Ballot Indy, also purchased through Costantini, winning the Parma-Poggio di Berceto and placing second overall in the Autumn GP and the Aosta-Gran San Bernardo.
At the end of 1922, Franz Conelli retired from racing to pursue the family business.
A lover of racing cars, he financed the construction of the extraordinary 12-cylinder Itala 11 and also financially supported the relationship between engineer Coda of Diatto and Alfieri Maserati for the construction of an 8-cylinder Diatto. He also put Alfieri in touch with Ettore Bugatti for a collaboration agreement, which, however, never materialized. He held the world record in powerboat racing in 1914 (Motoscafo SCIATA, Fiat 300 HP engine, in Monte Carlo).

14 Maria Antonietta Avanzo (Contarina Veneta, Rovigo, February 5, 1889 – Rome, January 17, 1977). One of the most famous and beloved Italian female drivers. Her career spanned twenty years (1919-1939), at the wheel of Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Bugatti, Maserati, Ansaldo, Buick, and SPA. She made only one appearance in a Diatto, in 1921.

15 Stampa Sportiva, year XX, 1921 no. 4, January 23, p. 3, “The beginning of the motoring year.” Signed BIS.

16 Stampa Sportiva, year XX, 1921 no. 45, November 6, p. 10.

17 Alberto Comirato (born July 7, 1898) owned a mill in San Nicolò, a hamlet of Treviso, and was also a Lambretta dealer after the Second World War.
After starting with a Diatto-powered special in 1932/33, he resumed in 1937 with Balilla Sport and Coupé models, later building at least three special vehicles with Fiat Balilla and Fiat 1100 engines and chassis, also with the help of fellow Treviso mechanic Fioravante Zanussi. He proved to be one of the strongest drivers in the highly competitive 1100 Sport class. He achieved numerous successes and became the Italian National Champion in the 1100 Sport class in 1939.
In long-distance races, he was always accompanied by Lia Dumas, first his fiancée and then his wife, who also drove. The Comirato-Dumas duo reached the pinnacle of their careers with a second-place finish overall in the 1948 Mille Miglia, behind Biondetti's Ferrari, at the wheel of a new, much more refined special than its predecessors, powered by a Fiat 1100 engine and a Gilco tubular chassis. This was replaced by a similar one in 1949.
In 1950, asked to become an official OSCA driver, he declined, but instead purchased an 1100 engine from them, which he mounted on the Gilco chassis. The new car was also successful in the 1950/51 seasons. The long career of Alberto Comirato and the Comirato-Dumas duo ended in 1952 at the wheel of a SIATA Daina equipped with a Fiat 8V engine.

Short description of the book "DIATTO":
The fifth book in the AISA editorial line is again dedicated to a Turin-based automobile brand, Diatto, active between about 1905 and 1930, about which very little has been written so far, despite a history as rich and evocative as ever of intertwining with some of the greatest personalities in the history of European motoring.

Diatto Automobili was born as a subsidiary of an industrial reality that had started in Turin in 1835, in the field of heavy engineering and in particular of railway and tramway construction. The progenitor was Guglielmo (1804-1864), whose grandsons were Pietro and Vittorio, the founders of Diatto-Clément in April 1905. Logically, the fledgling company could enjoy from the very beginning the long manufacturing tradition of the parent-company.

Moreover, the Diatto family, large and articulate, constituted an industrial power in the Turin area for about eighty years thanks to a large number of corporate holdings in companies in a wide variety of sectors, with a predilection for metallurgy. With the sale, however, of the railroad part to Fiat in 1917, and with the gradual death of the most active members, the family withdrew from business, and Diatto was acquired, while the war was still in progress, by other industrial groups. Equally interesting was the subsequent history, in which hitherto never so thoroughly investigated relationships are interwoven between Diatto and Ettore Bugatti for an aviation engine, between Diatto and designer Giuseppe Coda (from whose hands the magnificent Type 20 emerged), and finally between Diatto and the two well-known designer-drivers Alfieri and Ernesto Maserati, to whom the realization of the eight-cylinder Grand Prix of 1925 is owed.

Complementing the historical narrative is a substantial set of appendices, including data sheets for each model made, tables with all race results, list of patents and machinery, history of the factories, and organizational charts.

311 pages, over 350 vintage illustrations, many previously unpublished.The book was written by Donatella Biffignandi and Alessandro Silva, for the first time together.

Giovanni Bossi and Alessandro Sannia also contributed documents, photographs and texts. Alessandro Sannia, together with Rosanna Bussano, edited the graphic design and layout.