The B.E.2 was almost identical to the B.E.1, differing principally in being powered by a 60 hp (45 kW) air-cooled Renault V-8 engine and in having equal-span wings. Its new number was not allocated because it was considered a separate type. The numbers allocated to early Royal Aircraft Factory prototypes are more properly regarded as constructor's numbers than as type designations. Sometimes described as a "rebuild" of an existing aircraft, either a Bristol Boxkite or a Breguet, it seems in fact to have been the first aeroplane built at the factory without the subterfuge of being a "reconstruction". It first flew on 1 February 1912, again with de Havilland as the test pilot. The Renault proved a much more satisfactory powerplant than the Wolseley fitted to the B.E.1, and performance was further improved when a 70 hp (52 kW) model was fitted in May that year.