In 1990, two specially prepared Esprits competed in the SCCA Escort World Challenge series. These cars started out as regular SE models but had all unnecessary equipment, trim, and glass removed. The suspension geometry was revised and Monroe shock absorbers were added. The brakes were by AP Racing, and the car's Delco/Moraine ABS system was the first anti-lock braking system ever used on an Esprit. The Chargecooled Type 910S engine had a revised engine management system with larger fuel injectors and a power output of 290 PS (213 kW; 286 hp). These cars were designated Type 105 and were campaigned by the Pure Sports team headed by "Doc" Bundy, who helped with development. In the first season the car claimed six pole positions, won four races, and posted two one-two finishes.
Late in 1990, Lotus built 20 road-going examples of the Type 105 under the name X180R. These were developed to homologate parts for the 1991 and 1992 racing seasons, specifically to allow an Esprit to campaign in IMSA's newly formed Bridgestone Supercar Championship.
Three more race cars were built for the 1991 season, designated Type 106 but adopting the X180R name, to be run by Lotus Sport alongside the two upgraded Type 105s. The Type 106 had a reinforced chassis with a revised roll cage and larger wheels and tyres but weighed 136.1 kg (300 lb) less than the Type 105. The engine was modified with larger fuel injectors, a better Chargecooler, and the removal of the catalytic converter, raising output to 305 PS (224 kW; 301 hp).
In 1991, driver/actor Robert Carradine placed second in the series. In 1992, Bundy won three races and took the driver's title. In 1993, the sanctioning body changed the rules such that the X180R was assessed a 136.1 kg (300 lb) weight penalty, which made the cars uncompetitive.
Having raced the Esprit in GT2 and GT3 classes, Lotus began to develop a new version of the car to race in GT1 class racing. Development was entrusted to the newly formed Lotus GT1 Engineering group, which included many staff from the recently dissolved Team Lotus Formula One team.
The Esprit GT1 was built on the Type 114 platform using the body from the S4 road-going Esprit made from composite materials and carbon fibre. Changes to the bodywork included a new carbon fibre splitter, diffuser, and floor. Power came from a Type 918 V8 engine with a single Garrett T4 turbocharger producing 557 PS (410 kW; 549 hp). The Renault transaxle was not considered adequate for the task; where the GT2 cars used Hewland DG300 units, the GT1 would use the new TGT200 6-speed transverse transaxle. The front suspension was upper and lower A-arms, while at the rear were upper and lower lateral links paired with upper and lower trailing links. The braking system used AP Racing carbon ceramic discs and calipers, and Penske triple-adjustable gas-pressurised shock absorbers were used at all four wheels. Weight was reduced to 900 kg (1,984 lb).
Production amounted to 3 units: chassis 114-001, 114-002, and 114-003. Two cars debuted at the 1996 BPR Global GT Series 4 Hours of Donington. Reliability dogged the car throughout the year, with problems linked to brakes, oil pumps, oil pipes, and overheating. The GT1 programme was succeeded by the Type 115 Elise GT1 the following year.
Two of the Esprit GT1 cars were converted to GT2 specification. Chassis 114-001 was acquired by Mike Haines Racing, who developed it into a competitive GT2 car; it now resides in a private museum in Tokyo, Japan. Chassis 114-002 was damaged at Oulton Park and became a parts donor. Chassis 114-003 was destroyed in a fire.
The Esprit was used by Thorkild Thyrring to win his class in the 1993 and 1994 British GT Championship. The car was also driven by Richard Piper, Peter Hardman, and Olindo Iacobelli, competing in the 1993 and 1994 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Brad Jones won the 1994 Australian Super Production Car Series driving an Esprit.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.