Not only is the Evora 400 the most powerful Lotus ever built, it's also the fastest accelerating Lotus in history. Never before in the company's 60-something year history has a car this fast seen the light of day.

So we're in for something special, then. And fast. Fast enough, actually, to put it right in the firing line of one of the finest Porsches to have ever seen the light of day. We're talking about the brand new Cayman GT4.

A quick look down the stat sheets of both road-going, track-focused cars reveals they appear to be evenly matched, but just how evenly matched?

Well, you be the judge of that. We've pitted the two head-to-head - on paper, at least - to see how the numbers game plays out.

Pick your horse (powers), and then prepare for a Comment War. Seconds out, round one...

Lotus Evora 400: engine

The clue is in the name. We're told from now on, all Lotuses will have the power figure in their names. And so, 400 is the number of horses Hethel has managed to eke out of that mid-mounted, 3.5-litre V6.

There's a new supercharger, charge cooler, engine management system and exhaust to liberate an extra 55bhp over the Evora S's 3.5-litre lump, along with a handy 302lb ft of torque, too.

Your move, Porsche.

Porsche Cayman GT4: engine

It took just 22 months from pitch to the board of directors for Porsche to bring this, the hardest ever Cayman ever, in front of your eyes.

It gets the same 3.8-litre flat-six 'boxer' engine as the Carrera S, though turned 180 degrees and bolted in the middle of the car.

Power? 380bhp. Torque? 310lb ft. It's also just 7kg heavier than the 3.4-litre sixer from the other Caymans, and sounds rather delectable.

Lotus Evora 400: transmission

A proper six-speed manual gearbox is on offer in the 400, with a new clutch disc and low-inertia flywheel (for extra rev-happiness), Lotus promising 'swift and tactile gearchanges'. For an additional outlay of EU2000, you can option a six-speed automatic gearbox (pictured), although we suspect we know which transmission you'd prefer.

Power of course, is sent to the rear wheels.

Porsche Cayman GT4: transmission

Again, another proper six-speed manual gearbox, and only a six-speed manual. Porsche isn't offering the excellent PDK automatic gearbox for the GT4, so all you get is that stick-shift, and dynamic gearbox mounts as standard.

It's rear-wheel-drive, natch.

Lotus Evora 400: chassis/aero

Lotus tells us the 400 is 'over two-thirds' new, and boasts a new aluminium chassis, plus significant changes to the lightweight composite body resulting in a kerbweight reduction of 22kg. There are lightweight seats and engine mounts.

There's a new downforce-generating front end, as well as a triple element rear wing, monster 370mm AP Racing brakes, a three-stage traction control unit, and limited slip diff.

All in, the 400 weighs 1415kg.

Porsche Cayman GT4: chassis/aero

Here's where you get maximum Man points. The GT4 shares its genetic makeup with the 911 GT3, we're told. So the front suspension is carried over pretty much wholesale from that GT3, the rear has been reinforced, the front and rear anti-roll bars have soft, medium and hard positions, you can configure the spring and damper units, and even the aero.

It's also 30mm lower than the standard Cayman, features a 13mm wider front track, a new front bumper, lots of cooling slats and a luscious new fixed rear wing complete with aluminium supports. There are beefier, 410mm brakes lifted from the GT3, torque vectoring, a mechanical limited slip diff and stability management.

The GT4 tips the scales at 1340kg - significantly lighter than the Evora, you'll notice...

Lotus Evora 400: performance

0-95km/h is said to take 4.1 seconds. 0-100km/h takes 4.2, and it'll top out at a maximum speed of 300km/h.

And the trump card here? The Evora 400 has already lapped Lotus's Hethel test track six seconds faster than the Evora S, with a time of 1m 32s.

Porsche Cayman GT4: performance

The GT4 will sprint from 0-100km/h in 4.4 seconds - 0.2 seconds slower than the Evora, but still half a second quicker than the Cayman GTS. It'll also top out at 183mph - 3mph slower than the Evora.

But Porsche's trump card? It has posted a Nurburgring lap time of 7m 40s, which puts it in some very fast, if unofficial, company. Stuff like a Gallardo Superleggera, Merc SLS, 997 GT3 and faster even than a 911 Turbo S. So it's certainly no slouch.

It's also a mighty, mighty thing to drive, as TG's Ollie Marriage reports from our first Big Road Test of the GT4: "I felt the forces build through the steering and chassis, knew which bits were having to work hardest, what I should do next," he wrote. "It allows you to think ahead of the car, to know what it'll do in any situation before you get to it..."

We've yet to drive the Evora 400, but even now, with that extra power and acceleration over the Cayman GT4, it's still got a big fight on its hands...