Audi UK’s January sales soared by 32.6% to 8,553 compared to the same month last year.

The sales success means Audi has boosted its total market share to 5.2%.

Audi UK also sold a record 86,003 cars in Britain in 2006, its sixth successive year of concerted growth.

“We are clearly seeing exceptional demand for Audi, and this is creating by far the biggest order bank we have ever seen in the UK,” said head of Audi operations, Gary Savage.

“Our dramatic sales totals actually disguise the fact that at least four of our ranges are production limited and had we been able to make more cars, we could have sold even more in January as well as last year as a whole,” he said.

Jeremy Hicks, director of Audi UK, said: “We are attracting a steeply rising number of clients to Audi but we are not achieving this by ‘overheating’ any individual model segment.

“Our growth is coming principally from the expansion of our range which is set to increase further this year with the arrival of the new R8 sports car and the A5 Coupe.”