Disagree with the elitism bit Thrush. Far too OTT mate IMO! People are RS enthusiast for that exact reason.....it being an RS! All boiling down to the fact that they are the cars used in Motorsport. Its not eliteism to then just consider(not dislike juts consider) that XR, GL,LX, etc etc are then all in the same catogory.
IMO thats the main reason for the enthusiasm...the motorsport history and ultimatly the power.