The Ex-Austin Dobson, A.A. 'Buster' Baring
1937 Maserati Tipo 6CM Single-Seat Racing Vetturetta
Chassis no. 1547

By 1935 the Maserati 4CM 4-cylinder Voiturette - or in Italian Vetturetta - racing car design had been out-moded by the new British 6-cylinder ERAs. The Bologna-based factory team was taken over by Luigi della Casa and Gino Rovere who ran it as the Scuderia SubAlpina, while Rovere poured new funding into the Maserati firm. In January 1936 Rovere became President of Maserati and provided further financial support.

Ernesto Maserati also recognized the need for a more competitive Vetturetta to combat the growing threat within the 1500cc single-seat racing category from the ERAs. He promptly produced his 6-cylinder Maserati 6CM design which featured a supercharged twin-overhead camshaft engine with bore and stroke dimensions of 65mm x 75mm. The supercharger itself was increased from 115mm as used on the 4CM to 130mm. The design broke new ground in featuring independent front suspension instead of a beam axle. The suspension system chosen comprised double wishbones and torsion bars, as Voiturette authority David Venables wrote in his book 'The Racing Fifteen-Hundreds' (Transport Bookman Publications, 1984):" ...becoming the first of a new generation of voiturettes which was to leave the vintage image behind...".

In fact, Ernesto Maserati had already used that kind of torsion-bar suspension on its 1935 V8-RI Grand Prix car and the early successes that were achieved by the Maserati 6CM must be attributed largely to the improvement in roadholding and cornering speed conferred upon the car by the new system.

The ex-factory price for a brand-new 6CM was Lire 95,000 – then Sterling £1,050 – and the car was regarded as a bargain compared to the expensive ERA at £1,800. In addition, the Bologna factory's support of its private owners was far more consistent, energetic, and better-trusted than that of the ERA company in Bourne. The Maserati 6CM also proved very consistent in retaining its tune and with the minimum of attention between races it could race reliably and earn start, prize and bonus money. All Maseratis in that period were regarded – when near-new – as being reliable racers, competition cars for the sporting gentry.

In period the Maserati 6CM, in the hands of talented drivers such as Luigi Villoresi and Count Trossi, were worthy competitors to the best of what the ERAs had to offer. In Italian events, in particular, the Maserati 6CM proved invincible and it found a ready market. By the end of 1936 four had been delivered to private entrants and a further twelve would be completed and out there racing during 1937.

The 6CM became the mainstay of the Maserati works team in 1938. The hopes of the Trident marque were also bolstered by the leading private Italian teams, most notably the Milan-based Scuderia Ambrosiana which always had very close links to the Bologna factory.

The Maserati 6CM we offer today, chassis number '1547', is well known, respected and with continuous history from new. It was supplied new in 1937 to English private owner-driver Austin Dobson, who campaigned the car in numerous events that season including Donington Park near Derby and Phoenix Park in Dublin, Eire. Postwar '1547' passed on to another English privateer, Mr Anthony Alastair 'Buster' Baring, who campaigned it from 1946 until 1948 including such events as Goodwood, The British Grand Prix at Silverstone and the St. Helier Jersey Road Races to name merely a few.

As early as 1950 it was sold to Bill Harrah for his world-renowned car collection based in Reno, Nevada, USA. It was preserved there for no fewer than 35 years, before eventually being returned to the UK in 1985. It was acquired by leading Historic racing owner-driver Peter Hannen who entrusted its restoration to the leading British Maserati expert Sean Danaher. The car was painstakingly re-commissioned for Historic competition, and it was during this time that the car was found to be in remarkably original condition, retaining its original engine, gearbox, axles, suspension, frame, and body panels. The 6CM subsequently passed to Maserati connoisseur Stefan Schollwoeck who continued to campaign the car with great success. Today the car is renowned as being one of the most original and least spoiled by a long life of Historic competition.

In recent years it has proved very successful within its category, appearing in the Shell Historic Challenge for at least three consecutive years, and running in various Monaco Historic Grand Prix and the Goodwood Revival Meetings. It has also been raced in the Ferrari/Maserati Challenge series since 2000, and won 'Grid A' in 2000, 2002, 2003. It raced in the Ferrari Challenge again in 2007 and so the list goes on.

The 6CM has been maintained by Sean Danaher Restorations Limited since the 1980s for the last three owners. The last event '1547' attended was the Nurburgring Oldtimer Meeting in August 2013. During the meeting, the engine lost compression in one of the cylinders that will necessitate a strip-down and inspection by the new owner. The Danahers are naturally the ideal candidates to undertake this work and would be pleased to advise interested parties.

It is thought just 27 of these 6CMs were built, and no doubt fewer survive today. With 1547's provenance, this represents a rare opportunity to acquire one of the most respected and admired 6CMs surviving today. This is an appealing, important, very competitive and proven pre-war Historic racing Maserati with great pedigree, and we commend it to the market.