The family was originally developed from the popular retractable-gear Cessna 210 and produced by the Cessna Aircraft Company. The Model 207 was a seven and later eight seat development of the 206, achieved by stretching the design further to allow space for more seats. The nose section was extended 18" by adding a constant-section nose baggage compartment between the passenger compartment and the engine firewall; the aft section was extended by 44" by inserting a constant-area section in the fuselage area just aft of the aft wing attach point. Thus the propeller's ground clearance was unaffected by the change (the nosewheel had moved forward the same distance as the propeller), but the tail moved aft relative to the mainwheel position, which made landing (without striking the tailskid on the runway) a greater challenge. The move gave that airplane a larger turning radius, since the distance between mainwheels and nosewheel increased by 18 inches (460 mm) but the nosewheel's maximum allowed deflection was not increased. The 207 was introduced as a 1969 model featuring a Continental IO-520-F engine of 300 hp (220 kW). A turbocharged version was equipped with a TSIO-520-G of the same output.
