11 Fastest Twin-Engine Piston Planes

The fastest twin-engine piston plane ever built in series is the Piper Aerostar 700P, with a published top speed of 306 mph (492 km/h), about 266 knots. Only about 25 were made, and the closest rival, the Cessna 421C Golden Eagle, tops out 10 knots lower.

Every aircraft in the top 11 is out of production. The fastest piston twin still being built is the Beechcraft Baron G58, at about 200 knots, and Textron has said it will stop building it once current orders are filled.

This list ranks civil twins with piston engines by the highest level-flight speed published for them. Twin turboprops have their own ranking in our list of the fastest twin turboprop planes.

Rank	Aircraft	Top speed	Engines	Built
1	Piper Aerostar 700P	266 kt (306 mph)	2 x 350 hp, turbo, pressurized	About 25
2	Cessna 421C Golden Eagle	256 kt (295 mph)	2 x 375 hp, turbo, pressurized	About 1,900 (all 421s)
3	Beechcraft Duke B60	248 kt (285 mph)	2 x 380 hp, turbo, pressurized	596
4	Cessna 340A	244 kt (281 mph)	2 x 310 hp, turbo, pressurized	1,351 (all 340s)
5	Rockwell Commander 685	242 kt (279 mph)	2 x 435 hp, turbo, pressurized	Not confirmed
6	Piper PA-31P-350 Mojave	242 kt (278 mph)	2 x 350 hp, turbo, pressurized	About 50
7	Cessna 414A Chancellor	235 kt (270 mph)	2 x 310 hp, turbo, pressurized	1,070 (all 414s)
8	Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain	235 kt (270 mph)	2 x 350 hp, turbo	1,825
9	Cessna 404 Titan	232 kt (267 mph)	2 x 375 hp, turbo	396
10	Cessna 402C	231 kt (266 mph)	2 x 325 hp, turbo	2,000+ (all 402s)
11	Rockwell/Fuji Commander 700	221 kt (254 mph)	2 x 340 hp, turbo	49

Ranked by the highest published level-flight speed, true airspeed. Sources: Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft via Wikipedia, Aeropedia, Aviation Consumer and AOPA, 2026.

How this ranking works

Only civil aircraft with two piston engines that were built in series qualify. One-off racers, aftermarket conversions and military aircraft are covered separately below. We rank on the highest level-flight speed published for each type, usually its maximum speed at altitude, and name the figure we used. Cruise speeds depend on altitude and power setting, so they are given in the text for context but never used to rank. Speeds are true airspeed in knots, with mph alongside.

1. Piper Aerostar 700P: 266 knots

The Piper Aerostar 700P is listed at a maximum speed of 306 mph (492 km/h), about 266 knots, the highest published figure for any production piston twin. Its two 350 hp Lycoming TIO-540-U2A engines are turbocharged and turn in opposite directions, and the cabin is pressurized.

Real-world cruise is close to that ceiling. Aviation Consumer reported the 700P trues out at about 260 knots at 81 percent power, burning 51 gallons (193 liters) an hour, and AOPA described it as cruising at nearly 260 knots.

The catch is rarity. The Aerostar family ran from 1967 to 1984 and reached 1,010 aircraft, but only about 25 were 700Ps. Most Aerostars built were 600, 601P and 602P models, which cruise at roughly 210 to 233 knots depending on the version and altitude.

The Aerostar you can still make faster

Machen’s Super 700 conversion fits the 700P’s 350 hp engines to earlier 601P and 602P airframes. Aviation Consumer reported a claimed cruise of 261 knots at 75 percent power, close to the factory 700P. AOPA notes that Aerostars have long laid claim to the title of fastest FAA-certified piston twin.

2. Cessna 421C Golden Eagle: 256 knots

The Cessna 421C Golden Eagle reaches 256 knots (295 mph, 474 km/h) at 20,000 feet. At 75 percent power it cruises at 240 knots at 25,000 feet, which is faster than the top speed of every twin ranked seventh or lower.

It gets there with two geared, turbocharged Continental GTSIO-520-L engines of 375 hp each, and a pressurized cabin for up to six passengers. Cessna built the 421 from 1967 to 1985 and delivered about 1,900 of them, which makes it by far the most common aircraft in the top three.

3. Beechcraft Duke B60: 248 knots

The Beechcraft Duke B60 is listed at 248 knots (285 mph, 459 km/h) at 23,000 feet. Its two turbocharged 380 hp Lycoming TIO-541-E1C4 engines are more powerful than those of either aircraft above it, and the cabin is pressurized.

Beechcraft built 596 Dukes between 1968 and 1983, so it is far rarer than the Cessnas around it. It seats a pilot and five passengers.

4. Cessna 340A: 244 knots

The Cessna 340A reaches 244 knots (281 mph, 452 km/h) at 20,000 feet on two turbocharged 310 hp Continental TSIO-520-NB engines. Like the three aircraft above it, it is pressurized.

The 340 seats a pilot and five passengers and was built from 1972 to 1984. Cessna made 1,351 of them, including 948 of the 340A version ranked here.

5. Rockwell Commander 685: 242 knots

The Rockwell Commander 685 is listed at 279 mph (449 km/h), about 242 knots, at 20,000 feet, with a maximum cruise of 222 knots at 24,000 feet. It used two turbocharged, geared Continental GTSIO-520-F engines of 435 hp each, the most powerful engines of any aircraft in the top 11.

The 685 was a pressurized piston member of the Aero Commander family, seating seven to eight passengers.

6. Piper PA-31P-350 Mojave: 242 knots

The Piper Mojave is listed by Aeropedia at a maximum speed of 278 mph (448 km/h), about 242 knots, and a 75 percent power cruise of 269 mph (433 km/h). Twin & Turbine quotes 242 knots as its maximum cruise, so the two sources agree on the number but not on what it measures.

It paired a pressurized cabin with 350 hp Lycoming engines, and only about 50 were built. That makes it one of the rarest members of the Piper PA-31 Navajo family, next to 1,825 Chieftains.

7. Cessna 414A Chancellor: 235 knots

The Cessna 414A Chancellor reaches 235 knots (270 mph, 435 km/h) at 20,000 feet. It uses the same turbocharged 310 hp Continental TSIO-520-NB engines as the 340A with one or two crew and four to six passengers in its pressurized cabin.

Cessna built 1,070 aircraft in the 414 line between 1968 and 1985. It gives up nine knots to the 340A.

8. Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain: 235 knots

The Piper Navajo Chieftain is listed at a maximum speed of 270 mph (435 km/h), about 235 knots, at 15,000 feet, and a maximum cruise of 260 mph (420 km/h) at 24,000 feet. It is the fastest unpressurized aircraft on this list.

Its two turbocharged 350 hp Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD and LTIO-540-J2BD engines turn in opposite directions. Piper built 1,825 Chieftains.

9. Cessna 404 Titan: 232 knots

The Cessna 404 Titan reaches 232 knots (267 mph, 430 km/h) at 16,000 feet. It is turbocharged but not pressurized, and it carries two crew and six to eight passengers on 375 hp Continental GTSIO-520 engines.

Cessna built 396 Titans between 1976 and 1982.

10. Cessna 402C: 231 knots

The Cessna 402C reaches 231 knots (266 mph, 428 km/h) at 16,000 feet on two turbocharged 325 hp Continental TSIO-520-VB engines. Economy cruise is far slower, at 142 knots at 10,000 feet.

More than 2,000 aircraft in the 402 line were built between 1966 and 1985.

11. Rockwell/Fuji Commander 700: 221 knots

The Commander 700 is listed at a maximum speed of 254 mph (409 km/h), about 221 knots. It was a joint program between Rockwell and Fuji of Japan, powered by two turbocharged 340 hp Lycoming TIO-540-R2AD engines.

Only 49 were built, between 1975 and 1979.

Fast twins just outside the top 11

Several well-known twins come close but fall short under a published maximum speed, or only publish cruise figures that sit below the Commander 700.

Cessna T310R and 310R: up to about 220 knots

AOPA puts the turbocharged Cessna 310 models at 220 knots at 20,000 feet, and the normally aspirated 285 hp 310R at just over 190 knots. The 310 line ran from 1954 to 1980, and 1,332 of the final 310R and T310R models were built.

Beechcraft Baron 58P and 58TC: about 220 knots

The pressurized 58P and turbocharged 58TC versions of the Beechcraft Baron cruise at about 200 knots at 8,000 feet and 220 knots at 20,000 feet. Both are long out of production.

Piper Seneca V: 204 knots

The Piper Seneca V is rated at 204 knots at 23,000 feet, with an economy cruise of 188 knots at 25,000 feet. Its 220 hp Continental engines are turbocharged and counter-rotating, but the cabin is not pressurized. Piper no longer lists the Seneca among its current aircraft.

Pressurized Cessna Skymaster: 190 to 200 knots

The push-pull Cessna Skymaster mounts one engine in the nose and one behind the cabin. AVweb puts the turbocharged and pressurized P337 at 190 to 200 knots at 20,000 feet, and the normally aspirated models at 155 to 165 knots.

Piper Aztec: 187 knots

The Piper Aztec is a PA-23-250, and its F model is listed at 215 mph (346 km/h), about 187 knots. That is slower than some lists claim, but the Aztec earned its place in history another way.

The Aztec that flew over the North Pole

In 1971, British pilot Sheila Scott flew a Piper Aztec 250 named Mythre on her third solo flight around the world. The trip took 55 days and crossed over the North Pole, a first for a light aircraft. Her better-known 1966 round-the-world flight was in a single-engine Piper Comanche named Myth Too, not an Aztec.

The fastest piston twins you can buy new

Most aircraft in the top 11 left production in the early to mid-1980s. What is still being built is slower, and as of October 2026 the list is shrinking.

Beechcraft Baron G58: about 200 knots

In an AOPA flight test, the Baron G58 topped out at 200 knots true airspeed at full throttle at 8,000 feet, on two 300 hp Continental IO-550-C engines.

That is ending. In November 2025, Textron Aviation told GlobalAir it will end production of the Baron G58 and Bonanza G36 once all current orders are fulfilled, and shift its focus to the Beechcraft Denali turboprop. Only two Barons were delivered in 2024 and two more in 2025.

Tecnam P2012 Traveller: 194 knots

The Tecnam P2012 Traveller is listed at a maximum speed of 194 knots at 10,000 feet, and Tecnam quotes a 75 percent power cruise of 173 knots. It is an 11-seat commuter with two turbocharged 375 hp engines, either Lycoming TEO-540-C1A or Continental GTSIO-520-S.

Diamond DA62: 192 knots

Diamond lists the DA62 at a maximum speed of 192 knots true airspeed at 14,000 feet, and 180 knots at 85 percent power at 12,000 feet. It seats up to seven and runs on two 180 hp Austro Engine AE330 turbodiesels.

Diamond DA42 and Piper Seminole: the trainers

Diamond quotes a maximum cruise of 190 knots at 16,000 feet for the four-seat DA42-VI. Piper’s Seminole twin trainer has a maximum cruise of 162 knots on two 180 hp Lycoming engines.

What were the fastest piston twins ever?

Military fighters of the 1940s were far faster than any civil twin. Britain’s de Havilland Hornet F.1 is listed at 475 mph (764 km/h) at 21,000 feet, and a prototype reached 485 mph (780 km/h) in level flight.

Germany’s Dornier Do 335, with one engine in the nose and one in the tail, is listed at 478 mph (770 km/h) for the A-1 version. The Smithsonian notes a German claim of 474 mph (763 km/h) in level flight, at a time when the official world speed record was lower.

America’s fastest twins were the Grumman F7F Tigercat, listed at 460 mph (740 km/h) in F7F-4N form, and the late Lockheed P-38L Lightning at 414 mph (666 km/h) at 25,000 feet. More of the era’s record-breakers are ranked in our list of the fastest planes of WW2.

The fastest piston plane of all has one engine

The piston-engine speed record belongs to a single-engine racer. On September 2, 2017, Steve Hinton Jr. flew the modified P-51 Mustang Voodoo to an average of 531.53 mph in the C-1e class. The previous mark, set by the F8F Bearcat Rare Bear in 1989, was 528.33 mph.

For the speed rankings across every kind of aircraft, from piston twins to rocket planes, see the fastest aircraft in the world.

FAQ

The Piper Aerostar 700P is the fastest production twin-engine piston plane, with a published top speed of 306 mph (492 km/h), about 266 knots. Only about 25 were built, out of 1,010 Aerostars made between 1967 and 1984. The more common Cessna 421C Golden Eagle is second, at 256 knots.

The Beechcraft Baron G58 is the fastest, at about 200 knots, but Textron said in November 2025 it will end production once current orders are filled. After it come the Tecnam P2012 Traveller at 194 knots and the Diamond DA62 at 192 knots.

Aviation Consumer reported that an Aerostar 700P burns about 51 gallons (193 liters) an hour at 81 percent power, while cruising at about 260 knots.

The Cessna 421C reaches a maximum speed of 256 knots (295 mph) at 20,000 feet and cruises at 240 knots at 25,000 feet on 75 percent power. That makes it the second-fastest production piston twin, behind only the Piper Aerostar 700P.

The piston-engine speed record is held by Voodoo, a modified single-engine P-51 Mustang, which averaged 531.53 mph in the C-1e class on September 2, 2017, flown by Steve Hinton Jr. Before that, the F8F Bearcat Rare Bear held the mark at 528.33 mph, set in 1989.

The de Havilland Hornet and the Dornier Do 335 were among the fastest. The Hornet F.1 is listed at 475 mph, and a prototype reached 485 mph in level flight. The push-pull Do 335 A-1 is listed at 478 mph.

Sales have been small. Textron delivered only two Barons in each of 2024 and 2025 before announcing the end of production, and said the change lets it focus on the Beechcraft Denali turboprop.

The 11 Fastest Twin Piston Aircraft, Ranked by Top Speed

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