1937 Maserati 6CM Monoposto Voiturette

The first owner took possession of this Maserati 6CM monoposto racer with chassis number 1540 on February 24th of 1937. Giovanni Rocco proved the cars potential and his talents by leading the Targa Florio for a long time before being forced to retire due to a burned valve. He had two more DNF's before placing third at the San Remo Grand Prix. That was followed by a victory at Coppa Acerbo at Pescara and another third place finish at Coppa Edda Ciano. The duo's final victory was at the Circuito di Campione d'Italia on September 27th.

In 1938, Giovanni Rocco drove a factory car along with Count Trossi and Aldo Marazza. No longer in need of his 6CM, he sold it to Antonio Negro. The car was later acquired by Charles Mortimer in the post-World War II era. It was driven by Mortimer in the 1947 Stanmer Park Speed Trials. From then, it passed through several owners. It came into the possession of Richard Fielding of the UK in 1969 who kept the racer for the next 30 years. Its next owner purchased the car in 2000 and brought it to the US.

In the early 2000s the car was treated to a restoration and brought up to historic competition quality. All aspects of the vehicle are original or been created to original specifications.

In recent times, it has been used in historic racing at Lime Rock, Pocono, and Laguna Seca in the Monterey Historics. It has acquired many first place finishes along with many top five placements.

This car was offered for sale at the 2006 Gooding & Company Auction held in Pebble Beach, Ca. It was estimated to sell for $650,000-$850,000. Rarely does a car of this quality and pedigree come available. Bidding reflected this as the winning bid won the car for $726,000.

By Daniel Vaughan | Aug 2017

By the mid 1930s the Maserati Grand Prix cars were facing stiff competition from not only its Italian rival Alfa Romeo, but two state-supported juggernauts from Germany, Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union. Maserati opted to focus on the small displacement Voiturette class in which they had had much success with the 4CM and 6CM models. Chassis Number 1540 is one of eleven 6CMs produced in 1936 and 1937. The 1494cc supercharged six-cylinder engine produces 182 bhp at 6800 RPM. This particular 6CM raced with much success in Italy prior to World War II and then continued racing in the 1950s and 1960s in England. In 2000 the car was acquired by Sam Mann who had this highly original car restored before campaigning it in historic races with much success.