Wipeout series is one of my favorite game series out there. It's like F-Zero on steroids + the awesome magic of The Designers Republic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Designers_Republic which made it look and feel like it does.
I agree, the stylism that The Designers Republic brought to the table definitely was a cornerstone of the Wipeout series for me. The other part of the equation that got me hooked was the soundtrack Messij by Cold Storage and every other track by this Artist for that matter. For the nostalgic, the tracks can be found here: http://www.coldstorage.org.uk/music.html