I have been reading this thread with a slightly different angle of enjoyment/nterest so please excuse me if this is off course.
I grew in Hothatchland. I had a R5GT Turbo not long after they first came out and it was fantastic. All for different reasons than the new electric one is but it did have an iconic identity.
You would, from your pensions comment, appear much younger and so the brightest period of the R5 identity was perhaps before your time?
What is it about the R5e that makes it different from many of the other E-thingies? Is it a love of the R5 character that makes it stand out or something else?