The formula for going fast in an airplane is neither cheap, economical nor easy to achieve but the concept is simple: chip away at drag, pump out all the horsepower you can find and pay for and fly it as high as possible. No surprise then that the majority of fast GA piston airplanes are turbocharged and show their best speeds in the teens and low 20s.
But like the sound barrier, 200-knot cruise speeds have proven elusive for piston singles and even some twins. A few turbocharged singles-the Cessna 210, the Bonanza A36TC/B36TC, the Mooney 252-inch up on the magic 200 knots but fall frustratingly short. If they just had a little more power-5 or 10 percent, say-the equation would change.