160bhp 1,985cc. dual overhead camshaft inline six-cylinder engine, four-speed manual transmission, independent front suspension with coil springs, live rear suspension with radius arms and leaf springs, four-wheel hydraulically-actuated drum brakes. Wheelbase 2,550mm (100.4").

Descended from the successful 6CM Monoposto designed by the Maserati brothers in 1936, the A6 formed the basis upon which the Orsis began to evolve Maserati from a strictly racing car constructor into a builder of low volume, fast and high quality grand touring and sports cars. The 6CM, a 1,500cc supercharged straight six, was impressively successful, and during the late 1930s the Maserati brothers built some 11 monopostos and 16 wide-chassis 6Cs. Omer Orsi was put in charge at Maserati by his father, Adolfo, and charted a dual path for the company, by now based in Modena. The Maserati brothers had worked out their 10-year contract with the Orsis and returned to their native Bologna to start OSCA, having seen most of the ten years unproductively spent, at least from the point of view of dedicated racecar builders, in World War II. The newly-named Officine Alfieri Maserati had only 30 employees in 1947 but Omer Orsi’s ambitious plans included both continuing the Maserati racing tradition and leveraging its skills and reputation into low volume production.

The 6CM engine was substantially redesigned and modernized, particularly by shortening its stroke and increasing the bore to make room for larger valves and increase its maximum rpm. Even with a single overhead camshaft the first 1,500cc models employed hemispherical combustion chambers with long rocker arms to actuate the valves. Not surprisingly, a twin cam version was developed for the racing A6GCS and the Formula 2 A6GCM Monoposto, and this soon was adapted to the road cars in two-liter form as the A6G/2000 and A6G/54, both designations being used simultaneously.

In production (if that term can be applied to Maserati’s artisanal workshop in this period) for twelve years, from 1946 through 1957, only 139 examples of the A6 in its many variations were built, of which only 60 were the twin cam 2.0 liter A6G/2000. Its construction was simplistic with a tube frame supported on dual wishbone coil spring independent front suspension and a live rear axle. Brakes were large drums. In its final version the A6G/2000 made some 160 horsepower, breathing through three dual choke Weber carburetors and fired by twin ignition, an impressive figure when compared, for example, with the highly acclaimed contemporary XK 120 Jaguar which needed nearly 1.5 liters more displacement to produce the same power. Weighing less than a ton, the A6G/2000’s performance was outstanding. The A6 series was built during a critical phase of innovation and evolution among Italian coachbuilders. The angular shapes and projecting fenders of the 1930s were quickly evolving into envelope bodies with tapered tails and even more extravagant and experimental concepts. Maserati’s A6, with its refined sixcylinder engine and chassis and exceptional build quality, was quickly adopted by many Italian coachbuilders both to bear their groundbreaking concept studies and to generate valuable income from sales to clients. Pinin Farina, Vignale, Frua, Zagato and Allemano all chose the A6 in one or more if its variants for everything from luxurious gran turismos to lightweight, aerodynamic racing cars.