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On the island of Djerba there was a ten-meter tower made of skulls for 300 years. Those of 5,000 Spaniards

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There are dozens of monuments in the world that should never have been erected. One of them stood for centuries on the Mediterranean island of Djerbain Tunisia. Yes, the region where The fictional city of Tatooine was recreated for the Star Wars saga, where George Lucas glimpsed a young Luke Skywalker discovering the path of the force. This mysterious place, beyond being an iconic place for fans of the saga, housed one of the most macabre constructions in history: Burj Al-Rus, a tower made with the skulls of 5,000 Spaniards. This is your story. In the 16th century, also called the “Century of Discoveries”, Spain rose as a world superpower and He assembled an empire so large that it dominated territories throughout the globe: Africa, numerous colonies in Asia, half of Italy, the Netherlands, Burgundy and much of America, from the current United States to Argentina. As his hand extended over so many regions, controlling and managing them became a problem. In fact, the management of the Mediterranean alone became a great headache for the Christian countries, especially for Spain, since the Ottomans and Berbers They carried out raids and they captured slaves wherever they could. It was also at this time that a fearsome figure emerged: Turgut Reis, also known as Draguta privateer, pirate and Ottoman admiral who has filled pages of historical literature ever since for his cruelty. Not only their fleets They attacked the ships of the empire dailyhindering trade routes, but managed to plunder even coastal areas and enslave their people. During this time, Jean de La Valette, general of Malta, was obsessed with defeating the Turks and reconquering the city of Tripoli, which was now under their power. So in 1559 he convinced Philip II to command a fleet of 28 ships and 50 galleys with 30,000 Christian soldiers. These forces would be led by Juan de la Cerda y Silva, fourth Duke of Medinaceli and Viceroy of Sicily. Hundreds of men left Syracuse, in present-day Sicily, for Tripoli. But when they arrived they saw something they did not expect. The enemy defenses were superior than thought. They turned around due to De la Cerda’s decisionwho pointed out that that battle was impossible win it without the relevant artillery equipment or, at least, cannons. Several troops were sent to Malta to warn of the situation and the rest of the fleet stopped on the island of Djerba (also called Los Gelves) to wait for reinforcements. The Djerba massacre and the construction of the tower There they fortified themselves as best they could and tried to build some defensive sites against a possible arrival of the Ottomans. And boy did they arrive. In less than two months, almost 90 galleys under the command of Piali Baja and its commander, Turgut Reis (Dragut). He chaos and fear It seized the troops, who were waiting for their commander’s decision. Between the choice of fighting or retreating, he chose the second when the Muslims had already landed and started a massacre. Pialí Bajá fought the Spanish, or what was left of them, for three months. While his generals managed to escape, 5,000 men led by Álvaro de Sande were isolated. Half of them were soldiers and the other half were simple sailors.. Without any help, they surrendered to the Ottomans, but Dragut showed no mercy. He didn’t even take them as prisoners. Directly ordered cut off the heads of the 5,000 survivorsclean their skulls and bones and, together with mud, build a tower on the beach built with Spanish skulls and adobe. This terrifying monument that could be seen from the sea dozens of kilometers away, would serve as a warning against future attempts at conquest. This tower was called Buj Al-Rus, which means “Tower of Skulls.” It was more than 10 meters high and stood for almost 300 years, until 1848, when the king of Tunisia ordered its demolition and buried the remains. Later, a monolith would be erected in its place in memory of the thousands of Spaniards who perished atrociously on that island. Turgut Reis, for his part, ended his days in the Ottoman siege of Malta, on June 23, 1565, at the age of 51, after being wounded during the siege of Fort San Telmowhen a cannon shot mortally wounded him in the neck. Image: Wikimedia Commons. Burj-er-Roos, engraving by Sir Grenville T. Temple, Bart. (1841). In Xataka | A group of archaeologists has discovered a new unknown language thousands of years old. The problem is that they don’t know how to decipher it.

The V16 beacons have a SIM with connection for twelve years. We know what you’re thinking

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If you haven’t bought it already, you have two months left to get one V16 beacon to carry in the car. It is a signaling device with a light and is also connected to share your position. How is this done? With an integrated SIM that offers connectivity for at least 12 years and for which you will not have to pay any fee. It is inevitable to think about it: How can I use this for my mobile? “Free” connectivity. It is one of the requirements that the DGT has set for the beacons that we must all carry in the car starting January 1, 2026. Once connected, the beacon transmits our position to the DGT in order to “protect you, spreading the fact that there is an accident vehicle to the rest of the vehicles that approach the accident site.” The beacon must guarantee connectivity for at least 12 years and its cost will be included in the price of the beacon itself. That is, you buy it and that’s it, you have a connection for years without having to pay more. The dismantled beacon. Image: Iván Linares, Xataka Móvil Well I put it on my mobile. For that you will first have to remove it and we already told you that you will not be able to. Our colleague Iván Linares, from Xataka Móvil, has dismantled one of these beacons and has verified that it is not a SIM card like the ones we have in mind, but that it is soldered to the board. The SIM cannot be separated from the beacon. In fact, it doesn’t even have the usual shape, but rather it is an industrial sim-on-chip, integrated into the circuits of the board, so putting it in your mobile or tablet is not possible. Furthermore, accessing this plate has not been easy either and in order to remove the beacon, Iván has had to unsolder two tin points. Limitations. Although we could easily remove it, it is a specific SIM for this device and has technical limitations. The main one is that it does not have access to the internet, but rather connects to a private network that connects only to the DGT 3.0 connected platform. If we managed to install it on a mobile phone, we would not be able to do anything other than connect to that network. There is more. Even if we manage to overcome all the obstacles, there is an insurmountable barrier. The network used by the beacons (NB-IoT) is designed for a specific use: an emergency device that connects sporadically. If it were to suddenly connect constantly, misuse would be detected and it would crash. So no, the twelve years of “free” connectivity does not apply to mobile phones. Image | DGT In Xataka | Madrid had one of the most complex underground labyrinths without GPS. Google and Waze have tamed it with 1,600 Bluetooth beacons

After many years trying to copy the Falcon 9, Elon Musk believes there is a company about to achieve it

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It seems unlikely today that a startup can be 10 years ahead of the competition, but that is the case with SpaceX. Elon Musk’s aerospace company dominates the industry thanks to the Falcon 9, a rocket that has turned 15 years old and has been almost a decade landing vertically without any other orbital rocket having managed to repeat the feat. Until now. The Falcon 9 has company. A few days ago, Elon Musk broke his usual disdain about the rest of the industry to point out a specific contender. The Chinese company Landspace is not only close to matching the Falcon 9, Musk admitted.but it could end up surpassing it. The reason? Its new Zhuque-3 rocket, which combines the general architecture of the Falcon 9 with key elements of Starship, SpaceX’s most modern and experimental rocket. The gigantic Starship “is in another league,” Musk said. However, recognized that the Zhuque-3 could reach “Falcon 9 levels of reliability and launch rate” in about five years. This is the Zhuque-3 rocket. The big bet of LandSpace, one of the private companies most powerful in the Chinese aerospace industryis a two-stage launcher with a first stage capable of landing vertically for reuse. Although it has a very similar power to that of the Falcon 9 (with a payload capacity in its reusable configuration of 18.3 tons), it is built in stainless steel instead of aluminum, and burns methane and liquid oxygen instead of kerosene, the same material and the same fuel as Starship. Landspace is just the first. If Zhuque-3 manages to successfully take off and land in the coming weeks, Landspace will be the first company to close the enormous distance that separates the industry from SpaceX (with permission from Blue Origin’s New Glenn, a larger and heavier rocket, which also hopes to take off and land successfully in November). These two will be followed by other models such as the CZ-12A from the Chinese state company CASC and the Tianlong-3 from the Chinese startup Space Pioneer. Next will come the Hyperbola 3 from iSpace, the Pallas 1 from Galactic Energy and the Gravity 2 from OrienSpace. All Chinese companies, driven by the liberalization of the space industry promoted by Beijing in 2014. Copy what works, then improve. Public incentives, such as very low-interest loans, only tell part of the story. If Chinese companies are on the verge of having their Falcon 9, it is because of their philosophy of first copying what works and then iterating until they improve on their Western rivals. Elon Musk’s recognition is, perhaps, the clearest sign that the race has changed. It’s no longer a question of whether someone will copy the Falcon 9, but rather who will be the first to surpass it using, ironically, SpaceX’s own ideas for its next generation of rockets. In Xataka | The race to become “China’s SpaceX”: who’s who in its private space launch sector

15 years were not enough for Amazon to defeat Steam. Now that defeat is taking its toll on him.

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In 2025, Amazon faces a deep crisis that challenges its hegemony. The obvious signs are mass layoffs what you are facing in the last few days, or the massive crash of your cloud serviceAmazon Web Services (AWS), which globally affected numerous digital platforms. But before, there have been multiple signs, some more subtle than others, that have made it clear that his gigantism was preventing him from precisely combating apparently much weaker rivals. One of its last bosses, Ethan Evans, has made it clear by recounting how Amazon tried to impose itself on the leading digital video game distribution platform, Steam. And despite having many more resources, it failed miserably. A revealing chapter. The failure of Prime Gaming within Amazon is a revealing chapter, and has been clearly exposed by Ethan Evans, former vice president of Prime Gaming. In a post that shared on his Linkedin profileEvans said that Amazon decidedly opted to compete with Steam, trusting in its size and resources to prevail. However, this strategy not only failed, but also showed a deep disconnection with the ecosystem in which its rival operated. According to Evans, the company tried everything to unseat Steam, from mergers with smaller stores that it intended to grow, to launching its own services such as Luna cloud gaming platform. But it never managed to deliver an experience that was significantly better. What went wrong. Evans says that one of the critical failures was underestimating the value of Valve, which combined a robust offering with a consolidated community and an interface adapted to the needs of players. Amazon mistakenly believed that its dominant presence and technological infrastructure would be enough, without understanding that players had already solved many of their problems and were unwilling to change. Evans adds to all this problems of focus, frequent changes in direction and the lack of a clear value proposition within a highly segmented and competitive market. As Evans himself says, there were experts who pointed out that this failure was foreseeable given the saturation and maturity of the digital gaming market, where differentiation requires not only capital, but also an innovative vision and solid relationships with users. Prime Gaming, in free fall. Prime Gaming is, perhaps, one of the departments of Amazon’s business that is suffering the most. In 3dJuegos they detail a “huge” cut that especially affects its MMO projects. Amazon will carry out a restructuring that will bring with it a very significant number of layoffs, including a total of 14,000 employees, with a direct impact on the Irvine and San Diego studios, which worked on titles such as ‘New World’ and the MMO based on ‘The Lord of the Rings’. Despite these cuts, Amazon will keep its video game division active, but with a different approach: they will focus on more sustainable products and agreements with third parties instead of continuing with their own big-budget developments. They continue to function as a distributor of the new ‘Tomb Raider’ and the Open world driving game from Maverick Gamessimilar to ‘Forza Horizon 5’. They also have a project from their studio in Montreal, ‘March of Giants’, moving forward with a closed alpha. The official justification for the restructuring is linked to the need to be “more agile” in a context of the explosion of artificial intelligence and changing markets. Goodbye, ‘New World’. Without a doubt, the project that suffers the most from these changes is ‘New World’, an MMO that will soon be discontinued and whose servers will close sometime in 2026. Season 10 and the latest updates, including the ‘Nighthaven’ expansion, will be the last content that the game will receive. As a way of thanking the community, Amazon made the “Rise of the Angry Earth” expansion free for all PC players, which multiplied users to a very notable but apparently insufficient 40,000 daily players. Massive restructuring. Amazon is preparing, at all levels, for major structural changes, starting with the massive reduction of its corporate workforce. As has been knownAmazon plans to cut between 14,000 and 30,000 jobs globally. The impact of the layoffs will be especially felt in areas such as human resources, advertising, payments, device development (including Fire TV), customer analytics and Audible. The overcontracting that took place during the pandemic and the need to redirect resources towards strategic areas such as artificial intelligence are presented as some of the reasons in a very complex situation. In Xataka | Amazon has calculated how much it costs to lay off 600,000 employees: 30 cents per item sold and many robots

From 27 to 36 years old the brain reaches its peak, then everything is downhill

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Concentration is a key skill in our daily lives, influencing how we learn, work, and perform important tasks. Without concentration, errors follow one another and the execution time multiplies. Recent studies have sought to determine at what point in our lives we reach the higher level of care and mental efficiency, a fact that may be very surprising to those who believe that young people are the most concentrated by nature. This information is also important to know what happens after that stage and how we can maintain or improve our ability to concentrate with appropriate exercises and habits. The zenith of concentration A meta-analysis A comprehensive study of 139 studies conducted by researchers from different departments at Hangzhou Normal University found that you can never be as focused as you are between the ages of 27 and 36. According to researchers, attention and memory capacity draws a Gaussian bell marking its peak between 27 and 36 years of age. During this age group, the brain achieves its greatest efficiency in sustained attention and executive skills, surpassing even those of young people as young as 20. From the age of 36, cognitive abilities related to concentration begin to deteriorate little by little, affecting processing speed and working memory. This decline is natural, but progressive, which does not imply that this capacity is lost drastically in a short period of time, the brain simply needs more care and strategies to maintain its optimal performance over time. Train body and mind Although concentration declines as maturity is reached, studies carried out at the Autonomous University of Madrid have revealed physical changes in the cerebral cortex after a cognitive training program based on memory and attention tests. The participants showed an increase in cortical thickness in regions linked to concentration control, suggesting that, with adapted exercises, the brain can develop and strengthen these abilities at any age. Maintain a mental exercise routinepromoting mindfulness and controlling distractions are key to prolonging states of concentration. Constant practice of tasks that require attention and organization techniques They are tools that help keep the brain active and alert. Furthermore, there is scientific evidence about the impact of regular physical exercise in cognitive processes, including attention and concentration, thanks to the increase in cerebral blood flow and the activation of brain regions involved in these functions. The scientific literature agrees that moderate physical activity and enriched environments promote neurogenesis and improve concentration markers. Habits that improve concentration To strengthen concentration and prevent the brain from wandering easily, it is essential to train the mind with specific exercises and adopt effective habits. According the statements By Estanislao Bachrach, a molecular biologist specialized in the relationship between the brain and human behavior, one of the most recommended exercises is daily meditation, which helps reduce stress and improve memory. The excess of distracting elements, such as cell phones or environmental noise, makes it difficult to achieve a state of attention and concentration sustained over time. multitasking He’s not a great ally either. to maintain focus, since with each task change the brain must relocate to the new task, something that takes it out of this “flow” state which Mihály Csíkszentmihályi talked about in his book ‘Flow‘. Finally, motivation plays a crucial role: when a task does not interest us or we feel anxious, nervous or overwhelmed, concentrating becomes more difficult. In Xataka | How to regain the concentration that social networks and multitasking have taken from us Image | Unsplash (Jonathan Borba)

A guy has been studying the diets of the oldest people in the world for years and is clear about what a good breakfast is.

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Dan “Longevity” Buettner is a controversial guy. He was the one who popularized the idea that five specific regions (Sardinia, Okinawa, Icaria, Nicoya and Loma Linda) had two things in common: a very high longevity and a diet with particular characteristics. Over time, the idea of ​​blue zones has been harshly criticized and rightly so. However, studying what people over a hundred years old were like, what habits they had and how they ate, has given us very interesting reflections. The importance of breakfast is one of them. We already know that breakfast is not the most important meal of the day. Although, of course, that doesn’t mean we can neglect it. Therefore, in a recent videoBuettner has given some recommendations. “The breakfasts of people who live longer do not include sugary cereals or greasy bacon,” he explained. On the contrary, the best breakfasts can be defined by three characteristics: it’s salty, it’s simple, and it’s rich in fiber. And it makes sense. For example, the evidence supporting fiber consumption. A diet with between 25 and 29 grams of fiber per day is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and even “all-cause mortality.” This is especially recommended in Spain where dietary surveys show the majority of the population below the recommendations. Something similar happens with “simplicity.” It’s not that more elaborate breakfasts are problematic per se. The fact is that the current rhythms of life make it easier for us not to complicate our lives and the “quick breakfasts” that the market offers are usually accumulate very high amounts of sugar (and salt). If we do not find simple and healthy alternatives, the drift will lead us to worse solutions from a nutritional point of view. Just the kind of things that “shorten” our lives. And then? Buttner makes some suggestions, of course: things like beans with rice, bread with avocado or even minestrone. That is, except perhaps the avocado (and thanks to the millennials), all the options are proposals that are somewhat far away from us – culturally speaking. However, breakfasts with legumes, whole grains and vegetables are not impossible. On the contrary, there are things “very much ours”, like tomato toast, that with a little care, would work as a scandal. What is clear is that, beyond Buttner, the available nutritional evidence is clear: we have to abandon cookies, cereals and other sweet breakfasts and adopt cheap, satiating and fiber-rich options. It doesn’t matter if it’s avocado and hummus or tomato, bread and olive oil. The important thing, as always, is to be more aware of what we eat. Image | Leti Kugler | Mae Mu In Xataka | Eating late in the morning is a bad idea. Now science knows better why

China had been testing a mysterious satellite in orbit for years. A counterespionage company has finally revealed what it was

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On October 16, the starry skies of the Canary Islands were illuminated by a spectacular fireball that crossed the sky from south to north. It was not a meteorite, it was a Chinese satellite that until a few days ago had been a complete mystery. A mystery called XJY-7. Since its launch in December 2020, as part of the maiden flight of the Long March 8 rocket, the Xinjishu Yanzheng-7 had been an unknown. China officially described it as a “new technology verification satellite.” Aside from a blurry render, the world knew almost nothing about its configuration, purpose, or capabilities. And although its re-entry was news in itself, the real news is that, just before it disintegrated, an Australian company managed to photograph it in orbit, finally solving the mystery of what it was and what it was doing up there. Counterespionage in orbit. Using its network of satellites to photograph other objects in orbit, the Australian company HEO achieved what ground-based radars could not: take photos of the XJY-7 up close. The images and the 3D model that HEO built from them revealed features that China had neglected to mention. According to the company has declared to SpaceNewsthe satellite was not a simple test platform; It was equipped with “a large radar antenna” and, most tellingly, a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) antenna. It was a spy satellite. SAR is an advanced remote sensing technology that allows high-resolution images of the Earth’s surface to be obtained in any weather conditions, day or night. The “mysterious” test satellite was, in reality, an advanced surveillance and remote sensing satellite. The HEO observations also revealed a fascinating detail about its design: the satellite had fixed solar panels. This forced it to “rotate its entire body” to maintain power generation, a behavior that the Australian company was able to verify through multiple simultaneous observations from different angles. Satellites that monitor satellites. Traditional monitoring methods (ground-based radars and telescopes) are no longer sufficient to monitor the activity of other nations in orbit. HEO uses a network of more than 40 sensors in flight to take satellite-to-satellite images for your clients. When one of its associated satellites passes near a target, it takes a photo of it. It is a “non-invasive flyby method” that offers real photographs where you can see antennas, panels, thrusters and payloads. With this technique, HEO has managed to identify more than 80 space objects before they appeared in any public catalogue. In an environment where satellite constellations are deployed by the dozens, knowing whether an object is an operational satellite, a piece of space junk, or what type of antenna it carries is crucial for intelligence and defense. Mysterious until his re-entry. Ironically, the mystery that surrounded XJY-7 in its useful life also accompanied it in its death, as the United States Space Command never issued a reentry alert. This is “strange” for an object of this size, says expert Marco Langbroek. It is estimated that XJY-7 had a mass of between 3,000 and 5,000 kg. That an object weighing more than three tons bypassed re-entry warning systems highlights the gaps in conventional space tracking. Even worse when it comes to a satellite with secret capabilities. Image | H.E.O.

In 20 years “millions of people” will live in space

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We knew that Jeff Bezos was lately more focused on his aerospace ventureBlue Origin, than on Amazon. What we didn’t know was that it has one of the most optimistic visions in the sector about the near future. Don’t be sad. During a talk with John Elkann (president of Ferrari and Stellantis) at the Italian Tech Week TurinBezos did not mince his words. The tycoon said he did not understand how “someone who is alive right now can be discouraged” about the future. The reason for your optimism? A near future where artificial intelligence, robotics and, above all, space exploration, converge in “multiple golden ages.” The future of humanity is not only on Earth; according to Jeff Bezos, it is about to expand exponentially through space. The role of Blue Origin. “I think in the next couple of decades, there will be millions of people living in space; that’s how quickly this is going to accelerate,” said Bezos, who I had already confessed in the past his expectation that Blue Origin will end up being bigger than Amazon. This optimism is not just rhetorical. Bezos is investing billions of his personal fortune each year to build new technologies for the commercial exploitation of space: New Glenn, Blue Origin’s heavy rocket that will make its first mission for NASA in November: launch the Escapade satellite into Mars orbit. Orbital Reef, the commercial space station in the form of a luxury hotel for millionaires that will have scientific modules for when the International Space Station is removed from orbit Blue Moon, the lunar module with which Blue Origin intends to surpass Starship by solving one of the big problems of the SpaceX ship: the evaporation of cryogenic propellants in space. Other lunar developments, such as the ability to make solar cells from lunar regolith. Bezos was clear: “If you’re going to go to the Moon and stay on the Moon, you need to use the Moon’s resources.” Exploit the Moon and space. One of Bezos’ goals is to turn the Moon into an industrial launch pad. “The Moon is a gift from the universe,” he said, noting that its low gravity makes it cost 30 times less energy to launch a kilogram of mass from the Moon than from Earth. In his vision, the Moon becomes a “rocket fuel depot” that will allow us to explore the rest of the solar system. Bezos’ vision directly connects the space race with the other great revolution of the moment: artificial intelligence. AI is a technology with an enormous energy thirst, and its data centers are becoming a true “energy hole” on Earth. Bezos’ solution: get them off the planet. The proposal is build gigantic data centers of gigawatts in space. The advantages are obvious: “We have solar power there 24/7, and solar power there has no clouds, no rain, no weather.” It’s not science fiction. In fact, Bezos predicts that this apparent science fiction will be economically viable very soon: “We will be able to surpass the cost of terrestrial data centers in space within the next two decades.” Space, he believes, will go from being a place for communications satellites to being the center of heavy industry and data infrastructure. In the end, Bezos’ vision unifies all the revolutions underway. If AI and robotics will take over production, what is left for humans? According to him, the freedom to choose. Bezos doesn’t believe we need to live in space to survive. Robotics technology will be so advanced that “we will be able to send robots to do that job.” So why will those millions of people go? Bezos’ answer is simple: “The majority will live there because they want to.” Images | Blue Origin In Xataka | Jeff Bezos has the world’s laziest metaphor for AI: “someone invented the plow and we all got rich”

Hidden for 43 years, this Mercedes-Benz 500 SL is the closest thing to a toy preserved in its packaging: it still smells new

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Who They collect toys and dolls They know that preserving a piece in its original case for decades is a precious achievement, a symbol of care and respect for the history of the object that also increases substantially its value. Now, imagine that same experience, but with a car. It is something much more difficult to achieve because, if only to give yourself the pleasure of drive it from time to timeand compensate the money that has been paid for it, it is easy and understandable for the vehicle owner to fall into temptation. However, that is precisely what SL Shop, a workshop specialized in repair and restoration of Mercedes-Benz and They tell it on their blog. The most surprising thing – and what makes this find so unusual – is that the owner’s intention was never to drive it, but rather to preserve it intact as it left the factory and without the slightest wear. If cars were sold in a blister pack like toys, this would be the equivalent. The dream piece for any collector It is common for a legendary car stored in a barn to appear from time to time. under decades of dust and rust. However, this Mercedes-Benz 500 SL R107 from 1982 has been discovered after 43 years carefully stored in a private garage in the United Kingdom, with just 68 kilometers on the odometer and in an absolutely pristine state of conservation. It has only traveled the 42 miles that were done on it at the factory and at the dealership before delivery. It is a true time capsule on wheels, which seems to have just rolled off the assembly line a few days ago. Sam Bailey, founder of The SL Shop, a classic Mercedes specialist who took delivery of the vehicle, said: “This 500 SL is the truest reflection of the original R107 plans.” In fact, as he himself acknowledges in a video they have uploaded to his YouTube channel, the car It even keeps the smell of new. “You could almost bottle it. It’s just heaven,” Bailey said. This example was purchased with all the original extras available on November 30, 1982 by a local watchmaker, who decided never to register this Mercedes-Benz 500 SL. In fact, even the delivery of the vehicle it was done in a truckso it didn’t even travel the distance between the dealership and the owner’s home. Since then, the 500 SL has been in storage under controlled temperature and humidity conditionsavoiding any deterioration. The Blue Green Metallic paint remains intact and rust-free, and the original dealer stickers are still attached, something very rare to find on collector cars. The car shows amazing conservation details: Waxoyl protective wax still covers the engine and exhaust, while the Michelin XWX tires remain. without having traveled even a kilometer. The interior preserves the leather, the original woods and even the authentic smell of the 80s. Among the factory options it has air conditioning, heated seats, ABS and metallic paint, valued in 1982 at more than 2,746 euros. The car has all its original elements and is in an impeccable state of conservation except for one detail. The Mercedes-Benz badge on the hood is not the original: it is a faithful reproduction that was made by the owner in solid silver. It was put up for sale: it will never be sold As Bailey tells it, he learned of the existence of this gem more than fifteen years ago, when during an exhibition, its owner approached them to tell them the story of his little automobile treasure. When Bailey asked if he would be willing to sell it, the owner responded with a firm no. But life takes many turns. In August 2025, Bailey received a call from the owner of the 500 SL offering it for sale. Knowing its history, the businessman has decided to buy it and He has promised to never sell it. To maintain the legacy of its first owner, the 500 SL will remain in an exhibition space open to the public and air-conditioned for conservation, where it will serve as a reference for future restorations. After all, there is no other car like this outside the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. That makes it a collector’s piece with incalculable value. The Mercedes-Benz 500 SL R107 was at the time the pinnacle of luxury and power German, with a 5.0-liter V8 engine that delivered 240 horsepower and a four-speed automatic transmission. Its design, technology and comfort rivaled sports cars from brands such as Ferrari and Maserati, but with an outstanding reputation. for its reliability. This model is recognized as a symbol of German engineering from the early 80s, capable of combining performance, elegance and durability, values ​​that are evident in this unique example, practically new after more than four decades hidden so that four decades later, whoever has the privilege of being able to sit inside, can smell the new smell of the first day. In Xataka | One of the largest collections of cars in the world has an unlikely origin: the shift system of fishmongers Image | SL Shop

China’s plan to fill the streets with electric and autonomous cars in 15 years is now official

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With the European Union launching into the electric car, with the intention of definitively abandoning the combustion engine and manufacturers trying to stop this possibility, China has presented its new automobile roadmap. The institution in charge has been China Society of Automotive Engineers (CSAE) who have revealed the Energy-Saving and New Energy Vehicle Technology Roadmap 3.0. Or, in other words, its roadmap for the automotive industry between now and 2040. The “new energy” car, that is, electric and plug-in hybrid, will be the cornerstone of a strategy that focuses on a reduction in polluting emissions but also on intensive automation of mobility. In said document, they assure ChinaDaily2,000 experts have been involved and it has taken 18 months to carry it out. “New energy” and autonomous cars The key points of the new Chinese roadmap in relation to its automobile market are summarized in CarNewsChinawho have exhaustively compiled the main pillars of a strategy that has gained in complexity. And this is based on the 1+5+26 concept: 1 roadmap or general strategy to establish global objectives 5 technological groups that group the technologies to be applied 26 specialized research topics to delve deeper into each area Among the key points of the new Chinese strategy, the following stand out: goals: It is expected that in 2028, polluting emissions produced by the automobile industry will reach their maximum. From there, the goal is to reduce them by 60% in 2040. It is expected that by 2040, 85% of cars will be “new energy”, the name China uses to call plug-in hybrids and electric cars. Of those, around 80% are expected to be fully electric. In 2040, it is expected that a third of cars sold will continue to use combustion engines, either as hybrids, plug-in hybrids or extended-range electric vehicles. From 2035 all passenger vehicles will be, at a minimum, hybrids. As a result, new energy vehicles are expected to lead sales from 2030 onwards. Gradual penetration of cars with technology level 4 autonomous driving (current robotaxis) and appearance of level 5 cars (same way of operating but in any type of circumstance, without restrictions due to lighting or weather circumstances). In the presentation Zhang Jinhuapresident of CSAE, has pointed out that one of the big differences between this roadmap and the previous ones (they already presented similar documents in 2016 and 2020) is that this time the program has focused on put more emphasis on production strategies that must be put in place to promote these technologies when. In previous documents, he assures, they would have focused on the technology itself and not so much on the industry. This has its consequences therefore in all areas of the industry. First, because manufacturers must adapt their production models to reduce polluting emissions when manufacturing vehicles, but also because, they say, a more robust connected network integrated into the cloud will be created to servicing autonomous vehiclesimproving their safety and independence when driving on their own. This is essential to achieve the great objective: “zero accidents, zero victims and high efficiency.” Regarding emissions targets, a classification system and methodology will be created to improve efficiency during production. The final goal is not only that in 2040 manufacturing will emit 60% less pollution than in 2028. Manufacturers are expected to save costs by working with data interconnection to analyze the most efficient system, even for the supply of parts or the sale of items. The program also focuses on the solid state batteries. This type of energy accumulators promise to position themselves as the element that allows the electric car to be consolidated at all levels, with promises of ranges of a thousand kilometers and greater safety for the batteries. For make China the leader in the sectorit is wanted that in 2030 the solid state batteries They are already part of the reality of their industry, although on a small scale. The great productive leap is not expected until 2035. So far, CSAE has presented two other roadmaps that have been gaining weight within the Chinese State. To understand how the situation has changed in less than ten years, 500 experts participated in the first program, a quarter of those who made up this latest presentation. In 2016 The program focused on the 1+7 strategy, with an overall roadmap and seven technologies in which China wanted to be a leader: energy-saving vehicles, “new energy” vehicles, hydrogen vehicles, smart connected vehicles, battery technology for electric cars, technologies related to vehicle weight, and automotive manufacturing technology. In 2020the program was expanded with the well-known 1+9. Then, that same roadmap was expanded with two new objectives, the development of combustion engines and the intention to make the Chinese automotive industry cleaner. 1,000 experts already participated in that redesign. Now the new project review some of the previous objectivesremaining as specified at the top of the article. What is certain is that in China they have been meeting the goals they had set. For example, in the 2020 roadmap they anticipated sales of 20% for “new energy” cars in 2025. However, this figure is almost 50% at the end of September 2025. Photo | Xataka In Xataka | Speed ​​has moved to China: BYD and Xioami are breaking all the records that Europe once dreamed of

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