Found the missing piece. In statement in another article:

Pokémon is definitely not a concept that benefits from thinking too hard about it. It’s basically capturing animals and forcing them to beat the shit out of each other.

There is no fundamental reason for it to be priced at $170K just because of where the engine is placed. Sure there might be some incremental cost up for a transaxle or suspension that costs more but that’s about it. Assembly labor should be a wash at worst. If they are clever they could reduce assembly labor because…

In b4 the “It needs a manual” brigade.

I have absolutely nothing against female drivers, but based upon the snippets of Mario’s comments you have quoted, I agree with him. I guess I am old, too.