Ferrari Challenge prancing its way on to PSP and DS

Publisher System 3 has announced a licensing deal with Italy's most famous car manufacturer, enabling it to bring Ferrari Challenge to DS and PSP (as well as Wii and PlayStation 3) late this year.

No details have been given with regards to the content of the game. But clearly the name suggests a title based on the real-life Ferrari Challenge, which typically pits race-prepared versions of road-going models from the Scuderia against each other in one-make, one-model series.

Various Challenge race meetings have been operating around the world since the early '90s. They tend to be run by the country's Ferrari Club and the pinnacle of the series will feature the latest car to be deemed appropriate for track use, currently the F430. (The Ferrari 360 and its predecessor, the F355, have both featured in the Challenge series – indeed, they still do, along with a select number of pre-'90s models).

So System 3 has options when it comes to work out the vehicles it wants to include in its game, although given the timeframe it has mentioned (an end of 2007 release) there may be a limit to the both the amount and type of content we should expect.

Unless it's been working on this for a while, of course. Certainly, a few years back, the System 3 stand at one of the major industry exhibitions did list a Ferrari-branded racing game as part of its forthcoming range so this could be the latest incarnation of an ongoing project.

That should serve as some reassurance to Ferrari lovers, although they should also bear in mind the publisher hasn't exactly got a pedigree when it comes to racing games.

We'll obviously update you as soon as we hear the shrill of a digital Ferrari V8 approaching.