Lotus Esprit GT1

The Lotus Esprit GT1 was a sports racing car produced by Lotus Cars. It competed in the BPR Global GT Series in the mid 1990s.

The early 1990s were particularly difficult for Group Lotus. The repercussions of global recession were severe for sports car manufacturers. During 1992 the Lotus dealer franchise network contracted from 29 to 19 outlets as production of the long running Excel and recently relaunched Elan M100 ended. Furthermore, by August 1993 General Motors had disposed of the company.

In addition although Team Lotus had remained independent from Group Lotus since 1954 its fortunes in Formula One would mirror those of the production side. With its bankruptcy in 1994, Lotus were left without any motorsport programme and production exclusively concentrated with the Esprit. It was apparent that single model production could not be sustained indefinitely.

Coinciding with the decline in Lotus’s fortunes were the performances of the Type 105 and 106 (X180R) cars in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Escort World Challenge between 1991 and 1992. These performances were an invaluable tool for Lotus’s North American Marketing. The kudos of owning a proven race winner was important in securing increased sales against the established race brands of Porsche and Ferrari. Also Lotus’s reputation of being a manufacturer of fragile unreliable cars had been improved through being successful in endurance racing.

The exploits of the works team was replicated in the hands of privateers in both America and Europe. Doc Bundy won the 1992 Bridgestone Supercar Championship drivers title with the Esprit X180R whilst Tom Langeberg won the Koni Production Car Series in the Netherlands. Although it was never conceived as such, the Lotus Esprit (now in the twilight of its career) was proving itself to be a credible racing car.

Appreciating the value of motorsport success, Lotus decided to capitalise on the racing potential of the Esprit and enter its first official works team in a sportscar category in twenty six years. The Lotus Esprit GT Team were to participate in the 1995 BPR Global GT Series with the Type 114. Lotus’s expertise and investment helped modify the 2.2 litre Esprit Sport 300 engine (TYPE) to produce 370 bhp. This power was transmitted through a five-speed Hewland DG300 gearbox to a body weighing just over 900 kg. Accompanying the factory support was the involvement of elements of the now defunct Team Lotus. For example, The Lotus Esprit GT team were based at the former headquarters of Team Lotus (Ketteringham Hall) and included Alex Zanardi in the driver line-up. Also the Type 114 was to benefit from Formula One technology including improved aerodynamics and data-acquisition systems.

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