More than 200 pre-orders for the Peugeot RCZ R have already been received in its first fortnight on sale.
Peugeot originally forecast to annually sell in the region of 300 to 350 examples of the 267bhp RCZ Rs.
The new car is the most powerful road-going Peugeot in history. Most of the car's buyers are existing RCZ owners looking to trade up to a more powerful and evocative model, with the others being traditional early adopters.
"The forecast was based on market analysis of equivalent cars," a Peugeot spokesman told Autocar. "The RCZ R is really the missing piece in our jigsaw; it's a halo model with a powerful engine that our competitors have always had in their ranges.
"Sales are now expected to be significantly higher than expected. We could sell lots, but we don't want to flood the market and harm residual values."
In order to ensure that the RCZ R's residuals remain as strong as possible, a limited number of demonstration models will be offered to dealerships.
"The cars can be displayed in dealerships, but only a handful will be offered to test. This is primarily to avoid damaging the market and residual values, by flooding it with used examples several months down the line. You can't create demand, so it's best to control the numbers."
There are no plans to cap the total number of RCZ Rs brought into the UK, allowing those who wish to buy the cars to do so, but long lead times are expected.
Production of the car is carried out at the Magna Steyr facility in Graz, Austria, alongside the RCZ - and more could be produced to meet the demand if necessary.
"The company will support us to sell more, if the buyers are there," the spokesman aded.
Peugeot's range-topping RCZ R is available now, priced from £31,995. Power comes from a turbocharged 1.6-litre petrol engine that helps propel the 267bhp front-wheel drive model from 0-62mph in 5.9sec.
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