Ferrari has announced plans to open its first theme park in Europe, bringing the prancing horse to the PortAventura resort near Barcelona.

Due to open in 2016, the 75,000 metre square Ferrari Land promises to include Europe's fastest and highest vertical accelerator and a 250-room hotel in the shape of an F1 front wing, billed as Ferrari's first five-star hotel. The project, involving an overall investment of €100m (£83m), will be built by private equity firms Investindustrial and KKR, under licence from Ferrari.

Andrea Perrone, CEO of Ferrari's branding division, said that after the opening of Ferrari World in the United Arab Emirates in 2010 the luxury sports car manufacturer had received many requests to build new parks around the world.

Perrone said the company welcomed "the opportunity to bring the spirit of Ferrari to Spain, where we have many fans and followers".

The Spanish park will be about a third of the size of the one in Abu Dhabi.

More Ferrari parks may be in the works, said Perrone, as the company evaluates proposals to lend its name to other parks outside Europe.

About four million people a year visit PortAventura which is hoping to boost the number to five million once Ferrari Land is built.

The announcement comes as many theme parks across Spain are struggling to cope with decreased domestic demand during the country's economic crisis.