SINGAPORE - Oil giant Shell has unveiled a new range of fuels designed for modern engines, which it says are more susceptible to dirt build-up.

Its Dynaflex fuels are the first major reformulation since the company introduced V-Power 17 years ago.

Shell claims the new petrols have "more cleaning and friction-reducing molecules" than its previous range, allowing them to remove - in the case of its highest grade of petrol - "up to 80 per cent of performance-robbing deposits".

The company said the new range was a result of more than five years of research involving more than 250 cars clocking a total of over three million kilometres.

This was in response to a trend towards smaller engines which are turbocharged and high-compression.

These engines operate at higher temperatures and speeds, making them more prone to carbon deposits building up in crucial areas, according to Shell.

Shell Singapore retail sales & operations general manager Aarti Nagarajan said: "Innovation for the good of our customers is the lifeblood of Shell."

Speaking to The Straits Times at the launch of Dynaflex on Wednesday (April 10), she also revealed that Shell's network of 57 stations in Singapore is being "rejuvenated" since the company parted ways with convenience store operator 7-Eleven two years ago.

"Sixty per cent of our stations will be rejuvenated by end of this year," she said. "The remaining stations will be by mid or late-2020."

A large part of the revamp pertains to incorporating food and beverages at its stations, under the in-house Deli by Shell brand name.

"We are passionate about food," she said, adding that Shell's aim is to eventually derive 50 per cent of station profitability from food.

A station in Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim has a Ya Kun Kaya Toast outlet, which Ms Nagarajan said may be offered in other stations.

Shell is also trying out coffee machines which dispense kopitiam-style local coffees.