The 6CM was unveiled to the public at the 1936 Milan Motor Show. Maserati had long concentrated on building cars for private owners and independent racing teams, and the 6CM continued this commercial tradition. The front suspension was carried over from the Maserati V8RI, while the chassis itself derived from the 4CM. The car was intended to compete in the Voiturette category, which accommodated smaller-displacement racing cars and provided a proving ground for drivers and constructors outside the pinnacle Grand Prix formula.
The era in which the 6CM competed was shaped by political as well as sporting pressures. The rise of Adolf Hitler had turned motor racing into a theatre of national prestige, with state funding flowing to both Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union. The German manufacturers dominated Grand Prix racing outright, which in practice raised the stakes across all categories and pushed Italian constructors to develop their machinery aggressively.
The 6CM was powered by a 1,493.2 cc inline-six engine with a bore of 65 mm and a stroke of 75 mm. Each cylinder had two overhead valves mounted at 90 degrees. The engine used a single Roots-type supercharger, a Weber 55ASI carburettor, and a Scintilla ignition system. Output in the first chassis built was 155 bhp at 6,200 rpm; by 1939 development had raised this to 175 bhp at 6,600 rpm. The car used a four-speed gearbox with reverse and ran on Pirelli tyres.
Overall dimensions placed the car at 3.72 metres in length, 1.48 metres wide and 1.2 metres tall. The wheelbase measured 2.49 metres and front and rear tracks were equal at 1.2 metres. A single fuel tank held 120 litres and the car weighed 650 kilograms. The rear tyres were narrower and taller than those at the front.
The 6CM performed well in European competition throughout its active years. One of the most significant performances came from Count Felice Trossi, racing chassis number 1532, who won four of the five races he entered with the car, finishing second in the one he did not win. His most noteworthy victory came at Monaco. Chassis number 1531 was raced by American driver Harry Schell at prominent events including Monaco and Goodwood.
The car also had success at Maserati's home circuit in Modena, where it claimed victory in both 1936 and 1938 to follow up an earlier 4CM win at the same venue in 1935. Works team victories were recorded in the Grand Prix of Naples and the Targa Florio, with drivers Aldo Marazza, Luigi Villoresi and Ettore Bianco among those competing for the factory.
Beyond the works effort, the 6CM was a popular choice for private entrants. Owners included Austin Dobson, Lord Howe and John Peter Wakefield. Independent racing teams that campaigned the car included Scuderia Ambrosiana and Ecurie Helvetica.
A modified development of the 6CM was created under the designation 8CTF. This used an enlarged and supercharged 3-litre engine producing around 365 bhp, installed in a modified and lengthened chassis, as Maserati attempted to close the performance gap against the all-conquering German cars. The 8CTF attracted serious attention at the 1938 Donington Grand Prix, where Rudolf Uhlenhaut, technical director of the Mercedes racing department, examined a car entered by Luigi Villoresi. Uhlenhaut reportedly remarked that had Mercedes prepared the 8CTF themselves, it could have beaten both Mercedes and Auto Union in that race.
The 6CM represents Maserati's most commercially successful Voiturette-era car, combining reliable engineering with the flexibility to serve both the factory and the wide network of private entrants that characterised pre-war motor racing. Its development trajectory, from the modest inline-six of 1936 to the enlarged 8CTF, illustrated both the ambition and the limits of an Italian manufacturer competing against state-funded rivals during a politically charged period in the sport's history.