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Recharge Wrap-up: VW Caddy TGI BlueMotion, VR tour of Tesla Model X

Take a 360-degree virtual tour of the Tesla Model X. Best viewed in the YouTube app on your smartphone, the video above - courtesy of Canadian Press Video News – allows you to look around the inside of the Model X as though you were sitting inside it. While you're viewing it, keep in mind Tesla CEO Elon Musk's words about virtual reality: "It's quite transformative. You really feel like you're there." See the video above, and read more at Teslarati. LG Chem's batteries for the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivan will be the Korean company's first time engineering and manufacturing a complete battery pack in Michigan for a volume production North American plug-in hybrid. The packs include lithium-ion cells, electronics and control units. The batteries were engineered at LG Chem's Troy, Michigan facility, and will be built at the company's Holland, Michigan plant. "Our experience with entire battery packs, including cell design and manufacturing capability, as well as our expertise in vehicle integration, makes us the ideal battery supplier for the Pacifica Hybrid," says LGCPI CEO Denise Gray. "We believe our technical strengths, engineering and manufacturing expertise, position us as a leading battery and control system provider for electric vehicles today and in the future." Read more at Green Car Congress. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will debut its Caddy TGI BlueMotion van at the Geneva Motor Show. The van, which is suited to family, taxi or city delivery use, can run on CNG or bio-natural gas in addition to gasoline. It also features a six-speed DSG dual-clutch transmission – a first in its class. The multiple high-pressure tanks for compressed gas are located under the floor, preserving all the Caddy's precious cargo space. A TGI version of the Caddy Alltrack will also be available, initially with a six-speed manual transmission, with the DSG option arriving in the middle of 2016. Read more at Green Car Congress, and in the press release below.

$1.4B hedge fund suit against Porsche dismissed

Investors have canvassed courts in Europe and the US to repeatedly sue Porsche over its failed attempt to take over Volkswagen in 2008 (see here, and here and here), and they have repeatedly failed to win any cases. You can add another big loss to the tally, with Bloomberg reporting that the Stuttgart Regional Court has dismissed a 1.4-billion euro ($1.95B US) lawsuit, the decision explained by the court's assertion that the investors would have lost on their short bets even if Porsche hadn't misled them.
Examining the hedge funds' motives for stock purchases and the bets that VW share prices would fall, judge Carola Wittig said that the funds didn't base their decisions on the key bits of "misinformation," and instead were participating simply in "highly speculative and naked short selling," only to get caught out.
With other cases still pending, the continued streak of victories bodes well for Porsche's courtroom fortunes, since judges will expect new information to consider overturning precedent. If there is any new info, it could come from the potential criminal cases still outstanding against former CEO Wendelin Wiedeking and CFO Holger Härter, who were both indicted on charges of market manipulation.

1000-hp Mk1 VW Golf is terrifyingly cool

There are plenty of things to love about the Mk1 Volkswgen Golf. The machine's horsepower isn't one of them. From the factory, the little hatch cranked a breathy 112 horsepower from the most robust form of its 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine. Boba motoring, however, has taken that figure and multiplied it by a factor of nearly 10. If 1,000 horsepower sounds terrifying in a machine with a wheelbase of just 94.5 inches, it should. A massive Garrett GTX4202R turbo force-feeds the little mill through a tweaked 16-valve KR head. The crew calls the beast the 16Vampir, and we think that's fitting.
Of course, we'd wager you quit reading right about the time you set your eyes on that headline. Those of you who've stuck around this long can point yourselves below to see the maniacal creation in action. You won't be disappointed.