[4] Previous efforts by Beechcraft and Cessna to market small jets had not met with success: the Cessna 407, a proposed civil version of the T-37 Tweet jet trainer, had not proceeded past the mockup stage due to insufficient customer interest,[5] while an effort by Beechcraft to market the Morane-Saulnier MS.760 Paris in North America had ended with only two aircraft sold.

[7] Cessna quickly found that its premium twin piston-engine aircraft were uncompetitive with the King Air, which was substantially faster, yet could be flown by pilots with similar skills and licensing qualifications.

However, the company also saw a broad gap between the King Air and existing light jets such as the Learjet, which were far faster but also relatively unforgiving to fly, requiring highly skilled pilots and long runways.

Cessna reasoned that a market existed for a light jet that was faster than the King Air but similarly easy to fly, relatively inexpensive to buy and maintain, and able to access small airports with shorter runways.

[8][citation needed] In October 1968 Cessna announced an eight place business jet capable of operating from airfields accessible to light twins.

[15] The aircraft was powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-1 turbofan engines after Cessna's experience with the T-37 Tweet twinjet trainer.