I guess there is a brand loyalty element as well. There are people who love Scooby's, VWs, Fords, etc. People will pay top prices for the biggest and fastest of a car brand they love.
The Focus RS500 is a good example at £35K!!! Crazy price for what is in essence a Focus but what a car. Ok...not £50k but 0-60 of 5.4 cannot quite match 3.7.
Would there be a number of deposits taken if VW released an R32 Turbo or a variant of the new Golf R with 400BHP at £50K and 0-60 times of sub 4 sec??? I bet there would!!
What's a new Golf R with all the gubbins...around £40K? Add at least £10K for uprated brakes, suspension, engine mods (turbo, etc.), full uprated exhaust system, and a solid gold 3 year VW warranty...easily £50k surely? Much better build quality that a Scooby as well.