I have tried replicating in neutral but the noise does not occur. Noise only happens under load and aggressive acceleration. Like getting onto the freeway.
I don't remember what year this applies to, but i do remember when these vehicle's were in development, that the mount could be installed flipped upside down. It would bolt together and function, but would cause noise and vibration issues. I cant say this is your issue because prototype and production are two very different things, but it's possible if the design didn't change. Might be something to look at.
I have a 2013 Ford Escape 4WD Titanium with 72,000 miles. Last summer, my car developed the same noise you are experiencing. My friends said it sounded like a race car, and it felt like it ran better (maybe it only felt faster due to being louder). I took it to the dealer to fix the noise, yet they could not find the cause of the noise, so they didn't fix it. In January I took a trip 100 miles in a snowstorm, and the next day the noise was gone.