I wonder how much WRC actually brings to car Manufacturers now anyway, regardless of the technology used.

In the past rallying was a way to show how tough a Manufacturers cars were, or how reliable, or how exciting, or how sporting, or how innovative.

Nowadays the tough and reliable aspect is taken for granted. But how many people are interested in their car being exciting or sporty ? I guess its single percentage points of the market.

So it seems to be up to rallying to show innovation and that's a really tough one. What has it done since 4WD was proven with the Audi Quattro 40 years ago ?