Personally, I've never liked the look of scooped cutaways and sticking a hole in the middle of one makes it even less attractive to me. They are also ergonomically and functionally inferior to standard cutaways when it comes to providing unobstructed access to the high frets. Given Taylor's track record of dubious claims, I'm skeptical about the claimed sonic effects of a soundport in that location, but I would certainly be willing give one a play and see for myself.
From the linked review:
"The aim of a partial cutaway is to offer the player as much upper-fret access as possible, without unduly compromising the amount of air in the chamber and soundboard size with a full cutaway."
If "without unduly compromising the amount of air in the chamber" is so important, then why does Taylor also make the Builder’s Edition 324ce shown in the same review which by implication must be unduly compromised with its full cutaway? (And looks much nicer IMO.)
The difference in internal volume between the scooped and standard cutaways is minimal and the difference in the soundboard size between the two is hardly anything at all.
Also in the review:
"The design here has been well executed with a single, curved piece of ebony and without the need for extra internal kerfing to support the structure, which would quickly add weight to the guitar."
The amount of kerfed lining that would be involved here would weigh something like 10 grams. Assuming a total guitar weight of around 4.5 lbs, 10 grams would be a equivalent to around 0.5% (one 200th) of the weight of the guitar.
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