wow, that is awesome. I have never met anyone who has flown that version of the Lancair, I always imagined it had that level of performance though. It's a shame it is not legal to modify certified airplanes. I have heard that a new cowling on a Malibu would put my speeds closer to what you are seeing.

The IV is a retract and has a much smaller wing, higher stall speed and less forgiving. I have flown one before and it is an amazing airplane, but certainly less forgiving and harder to get in/out of short runways where I live. I think it was about 100kts over the fence if I remember correctly. Doable on a 3000ft runway, but maybe tighter than most would feel comfortable with. The IV will true about 30 kts more than the ES at the same altitude and fuel burn so of course range is even further. It carries the same 106 gallons, 102 useable.

and you'll pay 4x the insurance, with no guarantee of renewal on the following year-

the brokers i spoke with when i was looking at IV-P's came back with "50hrs of dual required in tail number"

The instructors were charging $1000/day plus expenses (plus my time, plus fuel)

insurance quotes were $17-$25k/year for $250k hull, there have been over 10 fatalities in IVP's since i closed on my ES

It talked me out of a IV/IV-P real quick

Hat's off to those who can swing it