1979 Karmen Volkswagen Super Beetle Convertible, Showroom Condition! Mint! on 2040-cars

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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.

South Korea to file criminal charges against VW exec

South Korea has tossed out Volkswagen's recall plans and is preparing to level criminal charges over its handling of the diesel emissions catastrophe, The Wall Street Journal reports. "Recall plans the company submitted to us earlier this month were insufficient and lacked key information, and thus are unacceptable," the South Korean Ministry of Environment said in a statement obtained by the WSJ. A ministry official hinted at the possibility of criminal charges earlier this month if VW's recall plan wasn't satisfactory, the Yonhap News Agency reports, and now it looks like it will actually follow through. According to the WSJ, South Korea has already ordered VW to recall 125,000 vehicles and slapped the automaker with a $12.3 million fine – one of the many countries to do so – but if it follows through with criminal charges against the company or its employees, it'd be among the earliest to so. Other countries, including the United States, are still exploring the possibility of criminal charges. Charges would likely come against both Audi Volkswagen Korea and its managing director, Johannes Thammer. It's not clear what the actual charge would be, but the WSJ claims Thammer could be facing up to five years in prison and a fine of 30 million won (around $24,700 at today's rates). For its part, VW officials in South Korea maintains that it is "doing its utmost to resolve the emissions issue" and that it plans to "offer further explanation" to authorities regarding its proposal for an emissions and fuel mileage fix in that country.

VW's credit ratings could take a beating

In addition to a significant drop in its share price already, Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal is continuing to have major financial repercussions on the German automaker. According to The Detroit News, credit rating agencies like Standard & Poor's and Moody's changed their forecasts on the company to negative, and Fitch has considered doing so, as well. Volkswagen appears to have the money to cover the costs of this ordeal, but the agencies question the effect that this has in the long term. "Moody's concern, however, is that Volkswagen's alleged breach of US environment rules and, especially, the process by which that breach occurred, will have an adverse effect on its reputation and credibility within the global passenger car markets," the company wrote in a note to investors, according to The Detroit News. VW has initially set aside $7.25 billion to fix things, but the potential shakeup of top executives has caused some investor uncertainty, too. The actual costs for VW to deal with this scandal are still unknown. In the US, the Department of Justice has begun a criminal investigation, and with other automakers the government has settled for $900 million against General Motors and $1.2 billion against Toyota. Attorneys general in 29 states have started looking deeper, according to The Detroit News, and regulators in Europe, South Korea, and Canada have commenced their own probes, as well. Related Video: