2014 Sport Chrono Rev-Matching on Manuals-- Tested and Liked

I drove a 2014 Cayman 6-speed with the rev-matching feature (enabled via the Sport Plus button with Sport Chrono) and was very impressed. This option is hardly advertised at all by Porsche and it's a shame. If you track your 981, or autocross your car, I would highly recommend this feature. In my view, it levels the playing field a bit with the PDK in that it makes downshifting from second to first on tight corners effortless (the hardest downshift to manually rev-match in my opinion). I presume this option will be available on the 2014 Boxster models, but I haven't seen anything from Porsche confirming this as fact.

I was told at the dealer that if the feature was used regularly it would extend the life of the clutch. That makes sense to me, but I have no idea by what margin. Anyone want to opine on this?

It could well be that the 2014 Boxster with Sport Chrono will have this feature. The Boxster literature that's our right now is just for the 2013. The 2014 production just started this month.

I can see that if you're rev matching, that it would help extend clutch life since there's less slippage when you're engaging the clutch. That's the whole idea behind rev matching - to match the engine and clutch speed to make downshifts smooth. OK, so some guys like it because it sounds "cool". It's the slippage when shifting that causes all the wear and tear on the clutch. Not when you've got it in gear and are driving.

There was discussion in some of the 991 forums about retrofitting the rev-match, but the consensus seemed to be that it's more than just a software upgrade. Perhaps there are sensors in the gearbox, etc. In any event, I thought it was great and I wonder why Porsche is so quiet and unclear about this feature.