The Cuban Gullwing - 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL

Originally owned by Nicolas Arroyo, a Cuban petrolhead, This 300SL won 1st in class at the second (and last) Cuban GP. As Arroyo had been ambassador when visiting the US before the revolution, he decided to move to DC when the revolution started, selling his 300SL to a Cuban racing team in 1959. In 1965, it was sold to an enthusiast, who didn’t really do anything with it, other than have his mechanic maintain it for the full 15 years he had owned it.

While this mechanic was supposed to look after the poor Gullwing, he didn’t really follow his boss’ instructions, the car was left outdoors most of the time, and a car made from ‘50s steel will inevitably start to rust… and so did this poor thing. The current owner stumbled upon the car while he was on holiday. His name is Alberto Cefis, he is an Italian entrepeneur who fell in love with the island, and started visiting regularly. Mr. Cefis had been a fan of this particular car for a long time, and hear rumours of it still lurking somewhere on the island, it took an eternity for him to find it, but he found it near Havana.

The 3.0-litre engine was found lying on the floor, the doors weren’t attached to the car. The previous owner (who hadn’t done anything with the poor Gullwing for the entirety of the time that he owned it) didn’t even want to consider selling it, but 4 years after the car was found by Cefis, the old owner let Cefis own half of the car. It wasn’t until 2006 when the car was fully his.

Because of all the junk surrounding the car, it took 6 months to move the car out of its old spot, and after that was transported to Italy. After arriving in it’s new home country, the car was fully restored and now roams the streets of Italy, and will be visible at this year’s Mille Miglia.

What do you think of this incredible story for an elderly German racer? It’s unsurprising to find out that not all cars in Cuba were American before the revolution, but still cool to find out there’s one out there, or rather, was.

• MH

Original post by Rosario Liberti ((Petrolicious) - https://petrolicious.com/articles/it-raced-and-then-almost-rotted-away-in-cuba-until-a-22-year-long-process-brought-this-gullwing-back-to-life