I think the designers had to deal more with trying to fit the intake in a tight spot in regards to hood clearance. They did very well at that. It definately wasn't a cheap design by any means though. Motorized butterfly valves come to mind. Now we're seeing plastic intakes which from a mass production standpoint is a hell of a lot cheaper than a cast aluminum intake. So it still is possible to see impovements based on the technology at hand.
