Having spent a lot of time around young lads of a certain age (my son and his mates) I can see that for them it was mainly an issue of street cred, showing off and wanting to have the fastest car. I know for a fact that the ones who could afford to drive Type R's and other sporty cars would show off and also let their mates have a go to see what it was like. Out of all the lads my son grew up with he is the only one that never crashed his car at some point after his test and shall I tell you why? Because I was the only mean parent that made him pay for his own lessons, his own test, his own car and his own insurance in HIS OWN NAME. His mates all had their parents as main drivers on their cars and one even got points for speeding which his father took for him! My son knew exactly what it would cost him if he crashed his car and was therefore a lot more careful. It meant nothing to the others who just got bailed out by their parents time and time again.