[Mark Worthington]

I suspect his preference may be based not so much on performance as on safety and comfort. Let's take these one at a time:

Performance - A mid engine car has a lower polar moment of inertia, which is certainly preferable on the track (quicker turn-in, etc.) and shouldn't present a problem on the street. The only problem I foresee would be a mid-engine car's tendancy to spin when pushed beyond its limits, as in trailing-throttle oversteer, as opposed to the more benign understeer that most front-engine cars tend towards.

Safety - In a high-speed impact, you have the engine infront of you to help absorb the impact in a front-engine car, while in a mid-engine car the engine will be trying to squish you between itself and whatever you ran into.

Comfort - Mid-engine cars tend to be noisy, what with the engine a few inches behind your head. Mid engine placement also tends to limit cockpit space.