They probably needed a bit more strength there?
It might make sense for them to use this all over the place, so they can order more and reduce the price to acceptable levels to be included in the regular Brompton.
Interesting, that photo do show me how easy it is to rebuild the front wheel, a big bonus as the rims do wear out sooner than later, and I always have to rebuild the back wheels with new rims and spokes dozen of time a months on customer bike.
Tried to Google image this but no detailed shots, what does it look like?