A Gorn starship was a type of vessel utilized by the Gorn Hegemony during the mid-23rd century for conducting raids. The Federation was unfamiliar with this class configuration prior to the late 2260s.
In 2267, a Gorn starship approached the Earth outpost on Cestus III at space-normal speed using the outpost's regular approach route. Before the outpost knew what hit them, the Gorn ship knocked out the outpost's phaser batteries with their first salvo, leaving the outpost defenseless. The weapon used was described by a survivor as being "like phasers, only worse." The Gorn ship continued to assault the outpost, until it was obliterated.
The Gorn starship later attacked the USS Enterprise, which had been lured to the colony by false signals. The Enterprise's counterattack with full phaser and photon torpedo banks proved ineffective against the deflector screen of the Gorn ship, which was located just outside visual range.
After the Gorn ship retrieved its landing party via transporter, it withdrew from Cestus III, and attempted to flee into an area uncharted by the Federation at that time. The Enterprise pursued, and eventually overtook the Gorn ship at Warp 8, before both ships were immobilized by the Metrons. (TOS: "Arena")
Background
The situation as presented makes it unclear as to which ship (if either) would have prevailed in a "head-to-head" confrontation. The Gorn ship appeared to be undamaged by Enterprise's weapons, nevertheless, the Gorn elected to withdraw rather than force the issue.
According to larger renderings displayed at StarTrek.com, the Gorn starship has four nacelles. The ship was designed by Niel Wray. [1]