Cars
The art of driving
The experience of driving a classic car like a 1924 Diatto type 20S in a historic car rally is a unique and challenging one, as these cars require skill and effort to control.
Surprise, curiosity, the dream of a distant past. To see a Diatto type 20S from 1924 among the participants of a historic car rally is a sure way to guarantee emotion. Commanding in size, elegant in her simplicity, powerful and agile with an engine which, at the time, was at the very forefront of performance. And above all absolutely epic in movement: the rear end tends to slide, and the driver has to use all every ounce of strength to govern the steering wheel and extraordinary courage to control the derapage necessary to make her turn, even on narrow and difficult roads like those around Etna.
In this type of competition, antique, difficult cars are increasingly rare. Those in pursuit of victory by passing the time checks with meticulous precision want docile, obedient cars. Of these, there are many and they are inevitably younger. They also want cars without clutches and accelerators that behave like a separated couple living under the same roof! Yes, because to start an old aristocratic lady like this, the use of the clutch is not something you want to underestimate. Not to mention the risk of gearshifts that scratch so loud even the deaf can hear them…
1924-2019: 95 years. That's quite a big number but if you look at a car today, say a luxury car of medium-high displacement, say a BMW, Alfa, Audi or Mercedes, there's very little difference, everything works smoothly, safely and without any physical effort.
