there is a reason ALL modern saxophones have a front F key....

Your description of a "front high F# key" is confusing.  There's the front F key, which has been a standard feature for between 85 and 90 years.  That's the one with the keytouch above the LH B key, that opens the E palm key.  Instruments without a front F key are unacceptably limited IMHO.  Then there's the F# key, which made its first appearance on some Selmer MK VIes.  That's the one next to the RH Bb/C/F palm keys that opens the highest pad on the body tube.  There's been a lot of great music played without the high F# key, but players who hang in the altissimo find it useful.