i disagree with you on that one Paul. The Willy 3 is also the rarest, but they are not worth the most, the Willy 1 is. Its all about ownership appeal and desirability to own. To me the Cup has more.
Dont get me wrong, the 182 is a good car even though I like to poke fun at these girly new Clios, but ask yourself this. Does it look like a proper hot hatch? does it look fast? does it stand out? does it look unique to the rest of the range? Now most 182 owners will probably be imagining the back of their car at this point thinking how can you get the 2 confused... but from every other angle it looks too similar to give a second glance. The Cup to me however is different, the colour and alloys make it stand out immediately, so you are in effect forced to look at its subtle but oh so worthwhile differences. In most articles I have seen on the 172/182s they always go on about how the Cup is rawer feeling, gives better feedback etc... They say the 182 with Cup options is great because it makes it feel a bit more like the Mk2 Cup... which in turn is only held in such high regards as it captures some of what was lost when the Williams ended production. For hot hatches people generally buy them because they either want a fast hot hatch... The true enthusiast will generally (if given the option) pick the car that is better to drive, more rewarding etc. Poor quality leather and some alcantera shouldnt really be affecting people thoughts on these type of car, if it was BMW I could understand, but added features on a French car are yet more things to worry about going wrong.