Mike, I think this is the better option:
While it doesn't appear to be the 'four into two into one' extractor design that's preferred for our engines, it will probably be free-flowing enough for anything under about 20 liters displacement. The only downside is that heater boxes will be very expensive.
And, despite appearances, the other one is not a legitimate exhaust system:
This was an early attempt by Mercedes to get their turbo diesels to run as cleanly as Volkswagen's. Only one of the 24 pipes is connected to the engine. The rest are fakes.
The thinking was that there was only a one in 24 chance the smog station would test the actual exhaust pipe, so you had a 23 in 24 chance of passing your smog test. If you failed, you could just bring the car back the next day and what are the chances they'd pick the right pipe twice in a row?
From an engineering perspective, this is actually a much simpler solution than what VW came up with.
Have a nice April.