Given the amount of barn find stories on the internet these days it’s a wonder that there’s anything out there still left to discover.

Well, we can now all stop looking, the game is up – things won’t get any better than this people.

What you see here is an iconic Mercedes-Benz 300 SL “Gullwing” – perhaps the most beautiful car ever put into production – presented in a gloriously patinated condition.

This car, chassis number 43, was originally shipped to Miami back in 1954. However, it was only registered on the road for 10 years before it was stripped of its mid blue paint and stored in a barn ready for a respray.

Heartbreakingly, and for reasons only its original owner will understand, it was then abandoned for over 50 years and the world temporarily lost one of its 1,400 Gullwing coupes.

Now it’s back, and while it may look like Merc Classic pulled it out of the barn yesterday, this car has just returned from a special display at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance in Florida.

Yes, we hope this car is restored to its former glory and enjoyed for years to come, but there is something truly stunning about seeing it in this original, well-weathered condition. Check out those Englebert Competition tyres.

They don’t make them like this anymore. If there was one car from history you’d want to stumble upon between the haystacks what would it be?

(Click HERE to read about some of Merc's other SLs)

STORY Greg Potts