At the urging of the Aeronautical Society of New York to represent it in the 1909 Gordon Bennett Cup Race in France, Curtiss built a larger version of No.1 and installed a new 60hp V-8 engine, which was a carefully-guarded secret until the racer was set up in France in August.

Flying against the clock rather than other aeroplanes, Curtiss completed the 20km closed course at a world's record 69.76km/h. The Reims Racer was later used by Curtiss and his pilots for exhibition work and other record flights in the United States.

Peter M. Bowers "Curtiss Aircraft 1907-1947", 1979