Ford has unveiled its first ever in-house designed Powerstroke diesel engine, which will be available in the 2011 Ford F250 and F350 Superduty pickups, as well as Ford’s larger trucks. The new engine, codenamed Scorpion, marks the end of a 30-year relationship between Ford and Navistar, the company that produced all of the diesel engines previously found in Ford trucks. Ford is hoping the new 6.7 liter Powerstroke diesel will help get America’s only car company that hasn’t declared bankruptcy get back into the heavy duty truck game. The engine will make its debut in 2011 Superduty pickup trucks.

Ford has had bad luck over the past few years when it comes to diesels. Reliability issues prompted a lawsuit and eventually the split with Navistar over warranty costs, according to Pickuptrucks.com. Ford knew that ‘good enough’ wouldn’t be good enough to convince potential buyers that the new Powerstroke is worth taking a chance on, so they pulled out all the stops, and what they came up with sounds pretty damn cool.

The 6.7 liter Scorpion Diesel features a slew of new features that Ford says will help make this a more powerful, quieter and more environmentally-friendly engine.

For the environmentally-concerned trying to reconcile their need for a large truck with their wish to save the planet, 2011 Ford Superduty pickups will be able run on up to a 20% mix of biodiesel. Even if you never actually put biodiesel in the tank, that feature will be invaluable the next time you’re stuck in an elevator with a rabid Prius owner.

The Ford’s 2011 Powerstroke engine also features a relocated turbocharger designed to give it better low end throttle response. The Scorpion’s turbo sits between the cylinder banks of the V8 engine, where the intake manifold would usually sit. The relocated turbo means that unlike Ford’s current Powerstroke engines, maintenance on the new engine’s turbocharger can be performed without removing the cab, which will save owners loads of money in mechanic bills.

So will Ford’s 2011 Powerstroke be good enough to compete with Chevy and Dodge’s diesel offerings? Or has Ford’s image with large truck drivers been sullied permanently?