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The reason Cessna used this engine for the military t41 is because a 6cylinder continental 0300 was used on 172's until 68. The IO360 continental was a very simple swap into those airplanes. Repowering with a 180 lycoming required quite a bit of additional things to be moved. I had an early 172 with 180 lycoming. Doesn't sound like a big deal, but moving fuel lines, battery, engine mount, controls,etc., takes alot more time(money) than it would seem. Changing a 68 or later 172 to a 180 Lycoming is very easy since an 0320 and an 0360 are virtually identical except for stroke. The exhaust is a bit wider and the carburetor sets a bit lower, but that is the only physical difference. And it is less than 10 lbs heavier depending on the crankshaft model.
The reason Cessna made the Hawk XP is to have an alternative to the 180 hp Cardinal which was only selling about 200 units per year. In order to provide something "new" and different for the marketing department, they chose the 195 horse Continental. One year after introduction, it replaced Cardinal in the lineup. I think a Cardinal is superior in almost every way, but does not handle like a 172 which a Hawk xp does.
The IO360 motor is ideal for some tightly cowled hombuilts because it is narrower than a 4 cylinder lycoming, even though it is heavier. The only reason Cessna used it was for the marketing deptment to have a new offering when bad press killed the Cardinal eroneously.
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