As far as performance gains are concerned, having your engine sticking out of the hood can't be good for aerodynamics and high speed racing. If anything, it might help the engine breath a bit better since it is in the open air instead of stuffed under a hood. 🤔
"Engine breathe"???
LMAO that made my day! XD
I know what you're saying, but that's not how you say it. It will help cool the engine, which in turn will help the engine to perform better, but yes it will not help you at all (aerodynamically). And generally, engines that stick out of the bonnet tend to be heavier, thus adding downforce and capping the overall top speed. So by doing that, there's no real benefit to you (racing-wise), except maybe it will add a lot of style value. Which is completely irrelevant to the race.