V for V-Power

Unless you’ve been driving with a horse-blinders stare forward over the last couple of weeks, you can’t have missed those teaser billboards declaring "get ready for the power of V" (or words to that effect). Was it a reVolution to oust GMA? Was it the sequel to "V for Vendetta"? A new album by Gary V? Michael V? Ate Vi? Dina BonneVie?

Heck, no, turns out it was a new fuel, a new gasoline to be exact. After years of Velocity as its high-end gasoline, Shell has updated its lineup with a better formula in "V-Power". Developed by Shell Global Solutions at the Shell Research Laboratories in England and Germany, the key ingredient of V-Power is a friction control additive that creates a protective film between the piston and cylinder. Friction robs the engine of useful power in the combustion cycle, and so this "Friction Modifier Technology" reduces the resistance and allows the engine to turn over more efficiently.

Another useful element of V-Power is that it’s been formulated to control power-robbing deposits. Over time, deposits in the inlet system accumulate and "dirty up" the engine’s innards, particularly in the valves. As these deposits build up, they absorb the fuel that could have gone directly into the combustion process, actually wasting energy that could go into more useful things, such as firing the piston down and rotating the crankshaft (But not making you coffee. It’s not THAT useful yet, okay?).

According to Shell, V-Power has been tested in the lab and in intensive real-world conditions to clean the valves, to help maximize engine performance, and even boost acceleration. So, V-Power’s cleansing properties will keep a new car performing like a new car for longer, while old cars can run better as the fuel burns up the deposits accumulated over time.

Rated a 95-octane gasoline, Shell V-Power replaces Velocity as its premium gasoline product and will work on any automobile or motorcycle designed to run on unleaded, catalytic converter or no catalytic converter. Price per liter will be the same as Velocity used to be, which, ahh, who knows these days what the current price of fuel is anyway?