McLaren is enjoying a surge in demand in the US, and that success could lead to a major expansion of its American retail network.

The British supercar maker, which returned to the road-car market with the MP4-12C in 2009, has established itself as a serious rival to Ferrari and Lamborghini. Its combination of performance, technology and striking design has helped drive growing interest, while McLaren’s success in Formula 1 is unlikely to have hurt its profile.

McLaren does not publish regular global sales figures, but individual dealers are reporting strong business. McLaren Scottsdale, for example, reportedly sold 105 new cars and 103 certified pre-owned models last year.

Now the US is becoming even more important. America accounts for more than half of McLaren’s global sales, prompting the company to consider increasing its US dealership footprint by as much as 40 per cent. That could mean adding between five and 10 new locations.

The expansion is being supported by an increasingly ambitious product programme. The forthcoming 788HS will bring greater power and more aggressive aerodynamics, while the McL 6GT concept previews a new exclusive series aimed at pushing McLaren further upmarket.

The company has also appointed former Nissan and Ford executive David Woodhouse as chief creative officer, giving him responsibility for defining the design language of its next generation of cars.

For McLaren, the strategy is clear: America is where the customers are, and the company intends to put more showrooms and more exotic machinery in front of them.