I took Wing Chun for 6 years, (man, I'm probably the only guy whose taken the top 2 martial arts made fun of here at sherdog, the other being TKD).
From what I've seen and experienced with WC, they do have fast hands, and I couldn't think of a better Martial art that teaches reaction, coordination, and body awareness. You can literally do wing chun with another partner blind folded.
That being said, it has tremendous flaws, especially conerning REAL self defense. The simple fact that wing chun has defenses that deal only with the techniques from its own list of attacks tells you how limited it, and to a great extent other traditional martial arts are. (which is why the M in MMA means Mixed.)
One spot I see wing chun actually having an advantage in is its leg sweeps or "sticky" legs, if you've ever tried this out. I've actually used this while sparring with a buddy of mine. You understand how the body weight shifts when the hands move so when he slightly stepped forward to throw a jab, I swept his lead leg with a flick of my foot, not much power at all, and he went down flat. Easy as that. =P Its one reason why wing chun emphasizes rear leg weight placement.
Also, stomping on someone's knee at an angle seems like it has real world application. Never tried that though.
Overall, I wouldn't count on wing chun winning many fights....espcially against larger opponents who like to grapple. Which is ironic, because it was supposeldy developed to fight stronger people....hmmm.