In 1990 Lotus needed a race program to promote the Esprit in the US market. To do this they upgraded an Esprit SE to race in the SCCA series. The new car, strictly race prepared, was called the Type 105
Externally, the car featured plexiglass windows with newly designed rear wings and front spoilers. Mechanically, the car had new AP Racing disc brakes, new suspension geometry and new engine management. The car produced 285 horsepower from the Lotus 910S power plant. Such horsepower was realized thanks to the use of Lotus/Omega fuel injection.
The type 105 SCCA car encouraged Lotus to make a new road-going Supercar. Thus the X180R was born. It was based on the the Type 105 having 285 hp. Twenty of these replicas were produced and sold as race-ready, road-going cars. They had air conditioning, dual sports seats and chassis galvanising (which was missing on the racecars).
In 1991, Lotus made three racecars to enter the SCCA World Challenge. These cars benefited heavily from the 1990 race season. These cars adopted the road-going name X180R despite changing to the Type 106 designation.
The 1991 X190R featured more horsepower, larger wheels and a revised roll-cage. The cage helped the car achieve a twenty percent increase in torsional rigidity. It did this by absorbing some of the front and rear loads.
The high state of tune allowed the engine to produce over 300 horsepower. Such power was realized by utilizing larger fuel injectors, enhanced charge-cooling and a non-catalyst exhaust system.
With all the modifications combined, the X190Rhad 36 more horsepower and was 300 lbs lighter than the Esprit SE.
The racing season for the X190R lasted three years. From 1991 to 1993 the car was raced with Doc Bundy taking a class championship win in 1992.
Specs & Performance
| submitted by | Richard Owen |
| engine | 910S Inline-4 |
| position | Midship |
| aspiration | Garrett TB03 Turbochargers |
| valvetrain | DOHC, 4 Valves per Cyl |
| displacement | 2174 cc / 132.7 in³ |
| bore | 95.3 mm / 3.75 in |
| stroke | 72.4 mm / 2.85 in |
| power | 223.7 kw / 300 bhp @ 6800 rpm |
| specific output | 137.99 bhp per litre |
| bhp/weight | 290.7 bhp per tonne |
| torque | 420.3 nm / 310.0 ft lbs @ 4800 rpm |
| body / frame | GRP Plastic over Steel Backbone |
| driven wheels | RWD |
| front tires | 245-14×16 |
| rear tires | 315-40×17 |
| front brakes | AP Vented Discs w/4-Pot Calipers |
| f brake size | x 330 mm / x 13.0 in |
| rear brakes | AP Vented Discs w/4-Pot Calipers |
| r brake size | x 279 mm / x 11.0 in |
| front wheels | F 40.6 x 21.6 cm / 16.0 x 8.5 in |
| rear wheels | R 43.2 x 26.7 cm / 17.0 x 10.5 in |
| steering | Unassited Rack & Pinion |
| f suspension | Double Wishbones w/Coil Springs, Munroe Dampers |
| r suspension | Half Shafts w/Lower Wishbones, Transverse Link, Coil Springs, Munroe Dampers |
| curb weight | 1032 kg / 2275 lbs |
| wheelbase | 2438 mm / 96.0 in |
| front track | 1537 mm / 60.5 in |
| rear track | 1575 mm / 62.0 in |
| length | 4267 mm / 168.0 in |
| width | 1905 mm / 75.0 in |
| height | 1854 mm / 73.0 in |
| gear ratios | :1 |
| 0 – 60 mph | ~4.1 seconds |
| 0 – 100 mph | ~11.0 seconds |
Keyword: Lotus Esprit X180R