Yes, I agree let's forget the name calling and stick to the issues. I'm an engineer that's done some consulting work for the major car companies. Once you'll read the description of Sport Chrono, you'll understand what it really does. I'm not sure what 'the gradient of increasing horsepower' is, but allowing full power all the way to redline will give you better acceleration on pretty much any high performance car, the Cayman S included. There are some basic technical reasons why - it's not a point of argument or opinion, just basic engineering. You can calculate the optimum shift points from horsepower vs rpm curve. In general, horsepower not torque determines acceleration.
Here is a pretty good summary of what Sport Chrono does:
Benefits of Sport Chrono:
Most benefits are self explanatory, except for the Hard Rev Limiter. To fully understand the benefit of the Hard Rev Limiter, we first need to define some terms.
What is a Rev Limiter? - A rev limiter is a safety device that cuts fuel, ignition or both at a specified RPM to prevent an engine from continuing to rev beyond its mechanical safety limit.
Hard Rev Limiter - The most basic of rev limiters, a Hard Rev Limiter does nothing until the engine reaches the predefined engine speed at which point fuel and ignition are shut off. This can be very abrupt and hard on the power train as the engine cycles on and off between full power and no power. The very first rev limiters installed were all hard rev limiters.
Soft Rev Limiter - Because hitting a hard rev limiter can be uncomfortable for the driver and hard on the car, manufacturers created the 'Soft Rev Limiter'. A Soft Rev Limiter reduces power output by retarding ignition timing as the engine approaches its limit. This usually begins about 500 RPMs before the hard cut off point. As the ignition timing is retarded and power drops off, the resulting feeling of power loss signals the driver that it's time to shift. If a driver ignores this, ignition timing is retarded further until the rev limit is reached at which point the resulting cut off is much 'softer' because the engine is not being cycled on and off between full power and no power. All Caymans come with a Soft Rev Limiter.
How does Sport Chrono affect the Rev Limiter? - Sport Chrono does not change the cut off RPM, which remains at 7,300 RPMs on cars with or without Sport Chrono Package. It simply removes the 'Soft' cut off that begins at 6,800 RPMs and allows the engine to produce full power from 6,800 - 7,300 RPMs. A car without Sport Chrono will start losing power at 6,800 RPMs and continue loosing power progressively until 7,300 RPMs where the hard cut off will finally be reached. Sport Chrono Package will replace the Cayman's Soft Rev Limiter with a Hard Rev Llimiter during Sport Mode.
No one has ever quantified the difference in horsepower in the 6,800 - 7,300 RPM range, but it is there by design and undisputable. Anyone with Sport Chrono can attest that the engine will rush to the hard cut off in Sport mode, where in normal mode they can obviously feel the flat spot.
Most owners who have Sport Chrono say they love the way it makes the car feel and that they use it quite often. This feature works nicely in conjunction with many of the other options like PASM, TipTronic S and Sport Exhaust to give the Cayman a 'Jeckel & Hyde' personality. At one moment ready for a night on the town, and the next moment ready to be a track day star. Features like this help make this incredibly capable car more forgiving when also used as a daily driver.
Yes, Sport Chrono does come with an analog/digital stop watch which is useful when tracking lap times. Sport Chrono Plus with PCM interface also stores lap times and history data in the PCM interface. These features are really best appreciated on the track when lap times are of interest to you, but all of the other features are just as much fun on the street.
Research this option here and you will come to the conclusion that most people who did not buy it wish they had. Start with the suggested reading below and try using the search option.
Drawbacks of Sport Chrono:
Some people don't like the idea of having two throttle control maps. I has been argued that practicing in one map will make your reflexes less familiar with the other map.