What is a good, FAST, nicely equipped airplane that could comfortably take 4 people with a minimum range of about 600 miles and without an enormous price tag? (i.e. No Learjets, please! 
)
Check out the LANCAIR IV-P
Cruise speed: 330 mph (534 km/h, 286 knots)
Range: 1,550 miles (2511 km)
It’s a kit plane so you’d have to assemble it yourself or buy someone else’s assembled plane.
I’m not sure how comfortable they are though.
Has anybody on the forums actually built a Lancair (or other similar kit plane)? Was it exceedingly difficult? I see on Lancair’s website that even though it is a kit, the price is still $200,000+. What comprises the bulk of that cost?
The kit. That price is for the kit, the engineering behind it and the sum of the parts. The engine, instruments, interior, accessories, paint, tools and labor are extra. I watched five retired Boeing engineers and airline pilots build one. It only took them about two years working full time. Their neighbor built one himself in about half the time and half the quality.
Depending on the size of the four people, an old Mooney.
EA-6B
Most folks take years and years ( 5 or more) to build their own plane. I know a gent who took 17 years. Maybe you just want to buy a Cessna 400 (formerly the Columbia 400) or a Mooney Acclaim. 230 to 240 kts, good range, etc. Or you could find a nice Bonanza and have a wonderful ride.
I saw a Lancair IV-P at a fly-in last October. It was a beautiful airplane.
While some people spend extraordinary amounts of time assembling a kit, others do it in amazingly quick times. If you start from a “QuickBuild” kit and can work on it at a regular pace, expect a couple of years until you have a flying plane. Of course, then you have to go through the certification process.
If you are interested in kit planes, check out the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association). Great resources for people who are interested in kit planes.
HAHAHAHA 
It really depends on what his definition of “without an enormous price tag” is. I mean, the price’s of older SR-20’s and 22’s are dropping like, well - dropping like they are (I’m sorry - I had to do it!) Some could argue that a Citation Mustang doesn’t have an enormous price tag. It’s all relative I guess.
I like the prowler idea though!
I’m with Flynyc…Bonanza is a nice way to go. But then again I’m partial to beeches. Theres always the centurion. Everything is relative to how many pennies you have in your piggybank. 
Op is not a certificated PP, right? If so, I don’t think a Lancair is in the cards for a while. No offense, but in my humble opinion, NOT A GOOD FIRST PLANE. Hate to see those premiums.
You are correct, I am not a pilot (yet!), but I was just curious about what you guys thought about what aircraft might fit my question.
I knew Lancair would come up! They look nice, but I don’t think I’d want to spend years building one. If I was truly interested in a Lancair, I’d find a certified aircraft shop of some sort to put it together for me.
Mooneys are fast, right? Are they nice other than the speed factor?
There are a lot of considerations. Each model has pros and cons. For instance, you can put 4 people in most of them but not have much range because you can’t put in much fuel due to weight. You can find the stats for each plane and make a decision.
The problem, as I see it, with the Lancair is not so much the plane, its with the combination of a samll wing area, big engine and high wing loading-that’s why it goes so fast, the con- Get behind it and you can be quickly overwhelmed, which COULD mean you are now an NTSB report that others can learn from.
A Bonanza would be my choice. Not as fast, but soooo sweet. Except if your a doctor…never mind.
Comfort, speed, and 4 seats…very hard to find without spending fairly big bucks. You need to specify a price range, though, otherwise, it’s really hard to know where to start.
You can’t have a shop build a Lancair for you, that’s not legal. You have to assemble at least 51% of it, if my understanding is right.
You could certainly buy a pre-owned Lancair IV, though. I have to agree with the other poster, though, it would be a serious mistake to leap straight into that airplane after getting your license.
Describe your mission again in detail, with a price range, and let’s start over. How fast do you want to go, how much do you want to carry, etc?
I checked out Lancair’s site. Pretty cool. You can pay for builder assist and looks like they will help you build your plane at their factory in 4 weeks.
You are right about the 51% rule though, unless it has changed. That’s how you get around the full blown certification process.
A Bellanca would be another choice. Do a search, there are several websites run by owners for almost every airplane ever built. Good stuff like things to watch out for when buying used etc.
BUT the high performance category is not something I would recommend learning to fly in.
John in Saudi
Here is mine 160knots.com/N4201B.htm
Of course This is entirely hypothetical at this point anyways since I don’t have my PPL and have a long way to go before I would have the license and the experience to fly a Lancair.
I live in the Salt Lake City, Utah area. It would be cool to be able to fly anywhere within Utah (and to Las Vegas!) speedily. Flying to Vegas for 2 hours, grabbing some great food, then flying back all in about half a day would be sweet. Hypothetically, a price range of $100,000 to $500,000 is probably the most realistic, even though admittedly, a purchase of even the low end of that probably won’t happen (At least nowhere in the near future).
If they’re so great, why can’t you buy a new one?