Cuba cars are more than just aging American and Soviet-era vehicles, because sometimes there are surprises lurking in corners. Like this once-gorgeous Mercedes-Benz 300SL.

Spotted by photographer Pitor Degler, he told Classic Driver magazine that he’d heard legend of a classic 300SL Gullwing on the island and spent a month searching for it while taking photos of cars in Cuba for his 2015 calendar. When he was about to give up, he found it.

The Mercedes is in horrible shape, hiding under a banana tree for who knows how long. But as far as “barn” finds go, it’s probably one of the greatest and definitely has a good story somewhere.

Having been in the last couple years, there’s a strange melting pot of cars in Cuba beyond the ’50s American sedans and Ladas being used as taxis – it’s mostly Geelys, Peugeots and Fiat Tempras, actually. I do recall spotting two Saab 96s and thought I scored a jackpot.

Turns out there was a bigger prize somewhere else.

Take a look at the video for Degler’s calendar below, as well as his other photos on his Facebook page.

Video

Contact: zac@carscoops.com or @zacestrada