Diamond Aircraft took the two-seat DA20 and developed the four-seat DA40. The airframe is of composite construction with conventional gear, side-by-side seating, adjustable rudder pedals and dual stick controls.
The DA40 XLS is powered by a Austro Diesel AE 300 170hp turbo. The AE 300 has a full authority digital engine control (FADEC). Diamond is aiming for a 2,000 hour time between overhauls (TBO) with the AE 300.
A Garmin G 1000 digital avionics suite is standard. The Garmin Synthetic Vision Suite is also available.