The CL-415 was developed from the piston-powered CL-215 Series 5 aircraft in combination with the advances from the turbo-conversion program.
The primary difference between the CL-415 over the CL-215T is an EFIS avionics suite. Additional improvements, which first appeared on the CL-215T, include winglets and finlets, higher operating weights, an increased tank capacity (6136 litres/1621 USG), and the addition of a foam injection system.