Fast spin - tumble drying
SuperElectronic... don't stop the rambling when you make so much sense! UK might a nation of spin speed cravers or it might even be mere marketing as you suggested earlier but I honestly can only see the benefits linked to it apart from failed drum welds which shouldn't happen provided there are no manufacturing faults involved :-S
Having said that I still feel it's unecessary to go to such extremes as 1600/1800 even 2000rpm (Gorenje). I don't even use 1400... I usually have it set at 1150/1250rpm (even if I set it at 1400 majority of the final spin time is spent at 1200 and ramps up to 1400 only during the last minute or so) and I drop it to 750/900 for mix cotton/synthetics/acrylics. The only thing I fear I'm not going to agree with you is on the spin speed lengh... this, in my experience, really helps to strike the right balance between creasing and wringing effectiveness... so the longest the better. Still, it all depends on how quick you want you clothes to dry.
I am totally dependent on tumble drying even when my clothes don't require drying... let me explain... being pushed by the ever climbing electricity prices I recently got into the habit of taking advantage of my spare room and a clothes airer... I have the washer connected to a time swich to use the discounted elec rates, so, my clean laundry is usually ready in the morning to hang on the airer for the rest of the day until it's time to use the night cheap rates again. Then I'd chuck the clothes which are usually dry (not bone dry) in the dryer for 20 minutes on low heat and it gives them the same finish as if they went through an entire drying cycle.
Lastly, your hypothesis about the Candy set of specs for all countries makes me wonder why this kind of incident with exploding drums is happening only now and not in the last few decades when Candy was already manufacturing higher than average speed washers for the nothern European countries. This whole thing makes me really believe that it refers to an isolated incident which evidently affects all those models bearing that specific manufacturing fault... it has also been confirmed by the media that those faulty items bore the same hallmarks as those exploded in Germany months ago. Now who's rambling :-D