I would imagine Motiv would ensure this ball is between the Primal Rage Remix and the Tag. Whether or not it is close to the original Primal Rage is unknown. That ball is one of the longest running balls in the current line up.
Current thoughts are the Redline is more snappy than what people originally thought. Could be the drillings people used or the factory surface prep. If this is to be a more skid/snap reaction than the Redline, it could end up being significantly condition specific.
Not many liked the original Octane, but the core was liked. Updating the cover should help a lot. I am surprised they went back to the Octane name since that ball left a bad taste for some people.
As for recycling cores, everyone does it. It takes time to generate new technology. Right now, Motiv seems to be focusing their energies more on coverstocks than cores.