The backbone-chassis Lotus Esprit is an upscale luxury high performance GT car. A concept car designed in 1972, it began to be produced in the Lotus factory at Hethel and offered to the enthusiast public in 1976. Over the past 25 years it has gone through an evolutionary process of improvements in styling, performance and balance. This has included a recent change to a 3.5-litre V-8 motor from the 2.2-litre in-line 4-cylinder engine.

In 1990 Lotus prepared two racing Esprits, designated the Type 105, to be entered in the SCCA Escort World Challenge. To prepare these cars Lotus started with an Esprit 4-cylinder turbo SE. The engine was balanced and blue printed and the catalytic mufflers were removed. The engine put out 335 horsepower. A limited-slip transaxle was used. A roll cage was added. Interior padding and insulation was taken out to reduce vehicle weight to around 2800 lbs. Larger 4-cylinder brake calipers were added along with wider wheels/tires. The ride height of the car was lowered and the suspension geometry was revised.

The World Challenge race series in 1990 featured eight races for U.S.-legal sports cars like the Corvette, Porsche, and Mazda. Since the series' inception in 1985, Corvettes had always quite handily won these races. The first race of the 1990 season was at Sears Point with one Lotus entered. The Esprit started from 5th position on the grid, but won the race overall. The final results for the 1990 season was 4 victories with 2 First/Second finishes, 6 pole positions, and 6 fastest laps. This record clearly points to Lotus' superior design, as the 4-cylinder Esprits were pitted against cars with V-8 engines 2 to 3 times the size of the Lotus power plant.

In celebration of the Type 105, Lotus built 20 street-legal versions known as the X180R. This car comes with most of the features found in the Type 105 race car, with a minimum of compromises to satisfy the DMV rules for a road car. The X180R engine puts out 285 to 300 hp. On the road the driver of the X180R experiences the handling, balance, braking and track performance of a race car.

The Utah Lotus Museum appreciates the opportunity to display photos and information on the X180R owned by Lew Gaskell of Golden, Colorado.