No. I have no plans (or desire) to restore that layout (as that wasn't designed by me). I only plan on using layouts that I design (or Russ or Steve from Pixel Exit designs) from now on.
As I mentioned to you both privately and in this thread, I do have plans to design (w/Russ) and implement at least 1 more "grid based" layout type called which will most likely be named "News view". I suggested that this new layout could work for you as a replacement to the old grid view. I really don't have a time frame for this as it requires coordination with Russ (and both of us are very busy). I doubt it will be anytime soon (most likely SC 3.2.X vs SC 3.1.X). I'll be sure to TAG you tho when I do have any news.
Note: As mentioned above, that old grid layout wasn't even one of my designs, it was designed by Ehren from XenFocus for use in customizing the XFRM's layout from a List layout (which is basically what Showcase List View layout is) into a Grid layout. I didn't even have Ehrens consent to use it within Showcase (even tho he said anyone could use his code) which is another major reason why it was removed (the other major reason was having to support someone else's code). If you really want that exact layout, then you could try and contact Ehren and see if he could provide some customization services for you (and then you would have him available to provide support for it if things change in XF or Showcase).
Note 2: If neither of those options work for you, you can always contact
@Russ or
@Qwk86gn (Steve) from Pixel Exit and see if they can help you with a custom layout type (Russ has done several custom layout types for Showcase and AMS as well as a couple other of my CMS types addons). ThemeHouse has also done a fair bit of customization for both Showcase and AMS as well.