The early 1990s were a difficult period for Lotus, marked by economic recession and changes in ownership, with General Motors disposing of the company by August 1993. Despite these challenges, the performance of the Type 105 and 106 (X180R) cars in the SCCA Escort World Challenge series between 1991 and 1992 demonstrated the value of racing success in bolstering sales against competitors like Porsche and Ferrari. This success also helped to improve Lotus’ reputation for reliability, previously considered a weakness. Following the bankruptcy of Team Lotus in 1994, Lotus sought to continue its motorsport involvement with limited resources, concentrating production on the Esprit. The Esprit GT1 was developed by the newly formed Lotus GT1 Engineering group, comprised of staff from the dissolved Team Lotus, to compete in the GT1 class.
The Type 114 utilized a steel tubular chassis paired with a carbon fibre body based on the Esprit S4. The car was powered by a modified 3.5 litre type 918 V8 engine, producing 550 hp (410 kW). This power was delivered through a six-speed Hewland TGT200 sequential manual gearbox, allowing the car to accelerate from 0–60 mph (97 km/h) in 3.8 seconds and reach a top speed exceeding 190 mph (306 km/h). The engine was extensively reworked with the addition of one Garrett T4 turbocharger, a flat plane crankshaft, forged aluminium pistons, multipoint fuel injection and an air-to-air intercooler. Suspension consisted of upper and lower A-arms at the front and upper and lower lateral links paired with upper and lower trailing links at the rear. AP Racing carbon-ceramic brakes with 6-piston calipers were used at all four wheels, along with Penske triple-adjustable gas-pressurised shock absorbers and Michelin tires. The car weighed just over 900 kg.
The Lotus Esprit GT1 debuted in 1996 at the Circuit Paul Ricard in the GT Series. However, its career was marked by reliability issues. The car’s presence in international sportscar races did contribute to increased sales of the V8 Esprit, with over 250 sold in 1996. Three chassis were built: 114–001, 114-002 and 114–003. Two cars debuted at the 1996 BPR Global GT Series 4 Hours of Donington. Chassis 114-001 was later acquired by Mike Haines Racing and developed into a competitive GT2 car, and now resides in a private museum in Tokyo, Japan. Chassis 114-002 was damaged at Oulton Park and used as a parts donor, while chassis 114-003 was destroyed in a fire. The Esprit GT1 was ultimately replaced by the Type 115 Elise GT1 in the following year.
During 1996, the FIA GT rules concerning homologation requirements were changed, requiring only a single production car to be manufactured. Taking advantage of this rule change, Lotus shifted its focus to the recently launched Elise and the development of the Lotus Elise GT1 (Type 115) for the 1997 season.
The development of the Esprit GT1 served as a testbed for technologies and ideas that would be incorporated into the subsequent Type 115 Elise GT1. The problematic Hewland gearbox used in the Type 114 ultimately led to its demise, and the Type 115 would abandon the V8 engine in preference for a Chevrolet LT5-based engine that Lotus had originally designed.