I'm sure someone probably has, and I wouldn't doubt that Billy probably tried it in his R&D of the first version. But this is just my speculation.

In my opinion the Serpent Ebuggy's current layout is great but like everything else I'm sure either layout has both it's pros and cons. I was looking for it the other day, but at one time I came across a column written up by a manufacture's engineer on how they decided to run the 4s brick instead of the saddle pack layout. It made clear sense and had me going back an forth on which layout to choose, because with mathematical logic it clearly stated that the 4s brick layout has the advantage in a better balanced chassis. Though I have yet to prove thier theory with actual desgins in hand.

But I liked the design and the compact look of the Serpent compared to the other designs. Also helped that I've been a Serpent guy since the release of the S811 Nitro Buggy and always lusted after owning one of thier onroad rockets when I first flipped the pages of a Car Action magazine. Call me a fan boy if you want. I mainly stuck with Serpent because it's what I know and like to drive.