Chinkilla

Chinkilla
Participation Information
Comedy Central Seasons	Season 2.0 (Exhibition only) Season 3.0 (Exhibition only)
Reboot Seasons	World Championship II (Withdrew)
Other Names	Chin-Killa
Team Information
Team	Team Leno
Team Members	Jay Leno Chuck Hughes
From	Burbank, CA
Robot Statistics
Weight	450lbs
Weapons	Lifting chin Spinning blades
Statistics correct as of its most recent appearance on the show, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

"450lbs of rompin', stompin' comedy out there!"

— Bil Dwyer on Chinkilla

Chinkilla was a robot owned by Jay Leno which fought in a number of exhibition matches during Season 2.0 and 3.0 of Comedy Central BattleBots.

Weighing in at 450lbs, it was substantially heavier than the 325lb (later 325.9lb) maximum for superheavyweights competing during those seasons. Consequently, its appearances were restricted to the aforementioned demonstrations, as well as promotional segments and features on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Chinkilla's main weapon was a front flipping scoop painted to resemble a caricature of Jay Leno's face; his 'chin' forming the scoop's lower lip. Alongside these were a set of four spinning blades - two on each side - which offered additional offence against other robots attacking from the sides.

According to Gearheads: The Turbulent Rise of Robotic Sports, Chinkilla was commissioned by two special effects workers from NBC, who built the 450lb robot in the space of a fortnight. Following its appearances in the Comedy Central run, Chinkilla was put into storage in the NBC studios and eventually disassembled, though NBC themselves would retain the rights to the robot's likeness and front artwork.

In 2015, a successor to the original machine was planned to enter World Championship I under the Team Chinkilla name. The team were supposedly forced to withdraw at the last minute due to copyright issues raised by NBC, with Team Chinkilla promising to resolve the issues in time for World Championship II. A February 2016 post suggested that work had indeed started on a successor, Chinkilla 2, with a photo showing various components for it including a motor and a newly-welded triangular wedge piece. However, Team Chinkilla would again not appear in the televised season, and it is not known whether Chinkilla 2 was actually completed.

Jay Leno and Chinkilla.

Another publicity shot of Jay Leno with Chinkilla.

Chinkilla in The Pits.

Chinkilla being transported.

Chinkilla with judge Joanne Pransky.

Leno and Chinkilla in the red square.

Outside BattleBots

Chinkilla's BattleBots fights were preceded by appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, which featured several builders and drivers of the era including Christian Carlberg and Lisa Winter. Chinkilla also fought Mauler 2000 in a quarter-sized BattleBox on a November 9, 2000 episode of Leno's talk show. It would ultimately win after Mauler's spinning top came loose and the robot stopped moving, despite Chinkilla's scoop appearing to be stuck under the arena wall. The robot made a total of four promotional cameos on the show.

Chinkilla fighting Mauler 2000.

Chinkilla on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Jay Leno and Chinkilla on his talk show.

Robot History

Season 2.0
Chinkilla vs. Ginsu (Exhibition) Chinkilla lifts Ginsu. Chinkilla's only exhibition match in Season 2.0 was against Ginsu. At the start, both robots went straight at each other before Chinkilla flipped Ginsu onto the killsaws. After moving away from the killsaws, Chinkilla got its flipping scoop to the left side of Ginsu and flipped it onto its side. Chinkilla celebrated its attack with a victory dance, while Ginsu was attacked momentarily by the hellraisers. Chinkilla then opted to knock Ginsu back onto its feet, encouraging a pushing match between the two bots. Ginsu moved away, only to be caught by Chinkilla's flipper again before crashing into the arena wall. Ginsu landed on an inactive pulverizer but was freed by its opponent. In the closing moments, Chinkilla dragged Ginsu on the killsaws and onto the spikestrip. Ginsu flipped itself against the rear on Chinkilla, but got back onto its feet shortly after, before time ran out. Chinkilla won the resulting judges' decision by a unanimous 45-0 score.
Season 3.0
Chinkilla vs. Nibbler, Reactore, SMD, Mordicus, Gungnire, & General Gau (Exhibition) Chinkilla is hit by Reactore. Chinkilla's chin becomes caught on Nibbler. Chinkilla's second exhibition match was against an army of lightweights: Nibbler, Reactore, SMD, Mordicus, Gungnire and General Gau. At the start of the fight, several of the smaller robots drove off in random directions to evade the 450lb Chinkilla. General Gau saw one of its spinning chains taken off by one of Chinkilla's blades while the flipping chin overturned SMD. Reactore scratched the face of Chinkilla before Jay Leno's bot wandered away. Gungnire then ran into one of Chinkilla's spinning blades, disabling them for a moment. Reactore proved the most violent of the lightweights, undeterred by the difference in weight between it and Chinkilla. Nibbler was immobile by this point, and Chinkilla gets the chin stuck on top of Nibbler, lifting Chinkilla's drive wheels off the BattleBox floor. Reactore then approaches Chinkilla to free it, but it became clear that Nibbler was no longer able to move. Chinkilla took on Reactore, attempting to flip it over, but Reactore got the better of the collisions, peeling away the decorative face. SMD feebly pushed itself into Chinkilla, then stopped moving after colliding with Reactore. Gungnire, who was immobile earlier in the fight, began driving again and opted to push Chinkilla, but missed and hits a spinning Reactore instead. Reactore then hits Chinkilla a few more times as it tries to earn valuable damage points. As SMD and General Gau drove around the front of Chinkilla, Jay Leno's bot backed into Reactore, knocking it onto its side to finally immobilize it. After this, time ran out and no winner was declared.
Chinkilla vs. Ginsu, Dreadnought & La Machine (Exhibition) Chinkilla is attacked by all three opponents. Chinkilla's final exhibition match was against Ginsu, driven by The Man Show's Adam Corolla and Jimmy Kimmel, Dreadnought and La Machine. La Machine and Dreadnought showed the most aggression of the three challengers and even turned on Ginsu at one point. The time ran out and Chinkilla won on a close and controversial 23-22 judges' decision.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 3
• Losses: 0
• Draws: 1

Competition	Wins	Losses	Draw
Season 2.0 *	Ginsu (Exhibition fight)	None	None
Season 3.0	Ginsu, La Machine & Dreadnought (Exhibition fight)	None	Nibbler, Reactore, SMD, Mordicus, Gungnire & General Gau (Exhibition fight)

* Chinkilla's "win" over a static gas pump is omitted from its win/loss record.

Mark Beiro Introductions

"From The Tonight Show on NBC, here is the undisputed champion, Jay Leno's CHINKILLA!"

"Jay Leno's thick-headed, muscle-bound CHINKILLA!"

"A robot so devastating that he demanded to fight three robots at the same time. Jay Leno's infamous CHINKILLA!"

See Also

• A brief segment featuring Chinkilla on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
• The Associated Press article on Jay Leno and Chinkilla
• Team Chinkilla - BattleBots Facebook page

Trivia

• Chinkilla was the heaviest combat robot of the classic era to fight in the BattleBox, at 450lbs.
  • This record was eclipsed by Chomp in the 2020 season of the Discovery reboot.
• Chinkilla's name was jokingly included on the official signup list for the 2018 season Desperado Tournament as No.18.
• Team Overboard listed Chinkilla as their favorite robot on their application form for World Championship VI.