Also available in 1989 through 1992—and standard equipment on the Spirit ES—was a 150 hp (112 kW; 152 PS) turbocharged version of the 2.5 L engine.

The R/T version came with a powerful 2.2 L (135 cu in) DOHC turbo III with cylinder head engineered and made by Lotus.

Fed by a Garrett intercooled turbocharger, the Turbo III engine produced 224 hp (167 kW; 227 PS) and 217 lb⋅ft (294 N⋅m).

It was chosen as Motor Trend magazine's "Domestic Sport Sedan of the Year", beating the Ford Taurus SHO for 1991 and 1992.

The only discernible changes for 1992 were a lower first gear ratio for reduced turbo lag, woodgrain dashboard trim as used on the Chrysler LeBaron sedan, blacked-out upper and lower grille inserts, clear rather than amber lenses for the front parking and turn signal lights, and a speedometer calibrated to 150 mph (240 km/h) rather than 120 mph (190 km/h).

The initial 1990-model Spirits used a version of the 2.5 L engine operating on leaded gasoline, equipped with a carburetor, a tubular exhaust header, and electronic control of ignition timing.

For the 1991 model year, Mexico enacted new-vehicle emission regulations similar to those in the U.S. and Canada.

[7] The MPFI 2.5 improved performance and driveability, as well as achieved cleaner emissions than its TBI counterpart, but was not used in the U.S., Canadian, or rest-of-world export markets except on turbocharged and FFV models.

The base R/T, sold from 1991 through 1995, used a Mexico-only 168 hp (125 kW; 170 PS) intercooled Turbo II version of the 8-valve SOHC 2.5 L engine and the 3-speed A413 automatic transmission.

More options and higher equipment levels were available in Mexico, including leather upholstery, sunroof, and 16-inch alloy wheels, none of which was offered on the R/T in America.

A variant of the R/T family, the Chrysler Phantom R/T, was a special-order Mexico-only premium version of the LeBaron coupe equipped with the 2.2 L 16-valve DOHC engine and the Getrag 5-speed manual transmission.