Photographers captured recent images that provide further proof Ford will likely offer a 2017 Ford F-150 with a turbodiesel engine.

The recent images, captured testing on Michigan roads, show an emissions certificate on the prototype truck indicates it will be a 3.0-liter unit, rather than the 3.2 thats offered in the Ford Transit. The JFC1-3.0-966 on the sticker is the emissions calibration code. The JFC1 is the control unit catchword, ironically the same catchword used in the 2004 Taurus with a 3.0 liter. The 3.0 is the engine displacement, and the 966 is the last three digits of the vehicle tag number.

These images confirm Ford will be using the Lion V6 found in Jaguar Land Rover products such as the Range Rover. The engine was developed while Ford still owned JLR. Out back, the F-150 diesel engine is further identified by the diesel venturi exhaust tip. Our earlier video confirmed that it sounds notably more diesel-like when running than the Ecoboost V6s that are already offered on the truck.

It appears Ford will be offering a direct competitor to the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel, which uses an Italian VM Mitori 3.0-liter V6 paired with an 8-speed automatic. Whether or not the F-150 diesel will debut with the facelifted F-150 series is uncertain, but we suspect it will be paired with the new 10-speed automatic jointly developed with GM and going into the 2017 Raptor.

We expect to see the diesel-powered F-150 by next year, although Ford has not yet made any formal announcements.