Start with what the Maserati 6CM is: a Single-seater with 1493.2 cc inline-6, built from 1936 to 1940, when streamlining and independent suspension were arriving together. What it meant takes a little longer.
Where it came from
The Maserati 6CM is an Italian single-seater racing car, made by Maserati of Modena from 1936 to 1940 for the Voiturette racing class. Twenty-seven were built on the Maserati 4CM frame, with front suspension as on the Maserati V8RI, and had a successful racing career from 1936 to 1939. The 6CM was introduced to the world at the 1936 Milan Motor Show. Maserati spent much of its early years manufacturing cars for privateers in the racing field. The Maserati 6CM is no exception.
Under the skin
The engine is 1493.2 cc inline-6. On the scales it comes to 650 kg. The wheelbase is 2490 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
In the Maserati line-up the Maserati 6CM has a clear place: it replaced the Maserati 4CM; it handed the line to the Maserati 4CL. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Volkswagen Beetle, the Bugatti Type 57, the Chevrolet Suburban. Nearby in the Maserati catalogue sit the Maserati 150S and the Maserati 200S.
Owning one today
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Maserati 6CM has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.