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KillerHurtz was a heavyweight robot designed and built by British representatives Team Hurtz, which competed in the first six BattleBots competitions including both of the untelevised 1999 events.

Its weapon was a sharp, pneumatically-powered rack-and-pinion axe powered by a CO2 cannister which used to be a fire extinguisher, which could be filled with carbon dioxide or alternatively, to align with BattleBots rules, nitrogen.[1] KillerHurtz was one of few robots to use car-style steering, but made up for its wide turning circle with high speed and pushing power. This, combined with its arrow-shaped front allowed it to ram as an effective secondary weapon. Another unique feature to KillerHurtz was its chassis, made entirely of Lexan. The sheets of Lexan were held together with bolts, tapped into the edges.

KillerHurtz performed respectably in BattleBots, finishing runner-up in its debut competition and John Reid won the Best Driver Award following the conclusion of the 1999 Long Beach event.

The team upgraded KillerHurtz's top armor, increasing its thickness from 6mm to 9½mm Lexan ahead of Season 1.0.[2]. This proved worthwhile as KillerHurtz backed its previous success up with a semi-final finish. However, KillerHurtz struggled in the seasons which followed, amassing four wins - one by forfeit - and three losses from Season 2.0 until 4.0.

KillerHurtz did not fight again after Season 4.0 as the team brought a brand new heavyweight entry to Season 5.0 called Beta. The robot is still in possession of John Reid, though is not in a fighting condition and has had much of its internals repurposed in other projects.

Outside BattleBots[]

KillerHurtz also competed in Robot Wars, but did not achieve much success back in its native country, never making it past the heats. During Robot Wars, KillerHurtz entered the First World Championship special representing the Czech Republic due to team member Dominic Parkinson being half-Czech. However, it lost in Round 1 to teammate George Francis and Chaos 2.

Team Hurtz competed in Robot Wars and Roaming Robots with another brand new robot named Terrorhurtz. It proved to be incredibly successful, reaching the Grand Final of Series 6 and winning the 2004 and 2009 UK Championships. Terrorhurtz returned as Robot Wars was brought back in 2016, competing in all three series of the UK show's reboot but never escaping the heats.

Robot History[]

Long Beach 1999[]

KillerHurtz vs. Punjar

The captain mistakenly left KillerHurtz's pneumatic ram back in England, leaving the robot with no weapon but a ramming spike. After receiving a first-round bye, KillerHurtz eventually fought Punjar.

"Didn't manage to pierce his ally armour with our spike. He was suffering with old batteries. It went the full distance and we just got the audience vote."
— Team Hurtz on fighting Punjar[3]

KillerHurtz won by crowd vote to advance.

KillerHurtz vs. Nightmare

Killerhurtznightmare

Nightmare rides up the front of KillerHurtz.

KillerHurtz then fought Nightmare, where KillerHurtz once again won by crowd vote.

KillerHurtz vs. Vlad the Impaler

VladvsKillerhurtzBattlebotsLB1999

KillerHurtz fighting Vlad the Impaler.

Next up for KillerHurtz was Gage Cauchois and Vlad the Impaler, who it managed to beat by KO.

KillerHurtz vs. BioHazard

KillerHurtz was now pitted up against BioHazard. John Reid's machine lost by knockout and fell into the losers bracket as a result.

KillerHurtz vs. Rhino

RhinovsKillerhurtzLongBeach1999

KillerHurtz against Rhino.

Next up for KillerHurtz was Rhino. Little is known about this fight, however KillerHurtz ultimately won by knockout.

KillerHurtz vs. BioHazard

BioHazardvsKillerHurtz lb99

BioHazard lifts KillerHurtz onto its side.

KillerHurtz was now in the Gigabot Finals and fought BioHazard again. In this rematch, KillerHurtz was able to put on a better show, going the distance with Carlo Bertocchini's bot. However, KillerHurtz did not get the nod from the judges and was declared the runner-up of the first BattleBots competition.

For unknown reasons, KillerHurtz did not participate in the Gigabot Rumble at the end of the tournament.

Las Vegas 1999[]

KillerHurtz vs. Malicious Mischief

KillerHurtzvsMischef lv99

KillerHurtz pushes Malicious Mischief against the spikestrip.

After receiving another first-round bye, KillerHurtz, with its new axe, was pitted up against Team Malicious' Malicious Mischief. Malicious Mischief only got one hit on KillerHurtz, as the British bot lept slamming into Malicious Mischief until time ran out. KillerHurtz won on a 7-2 judges' decision and was now in the quarter-finals, where it was pitted up against Punjar again.

KillerHurtz vs. Punjar

PunjarVsKHz

KillerHurtz bounces off Punjar.

KillerHurtz drove straight at Punjar and fired its axe, but it bounced off Punjar's wedge and was sent careening away. Punjar attempted to get underneath KillerHurtz to push it, but KillerHurtz drove out of the way before being slammed against the arena wall. There, it managed to axe Punjar, but failed to cause any damage. Punjar managed to stay on top of the fight, pushing KillerHurtz around into walls and hazards, occasionally flipping it up. The fight went to the judges, who ruled 9-0 in favor of Punjar, eliminating KillerHurtz from the tournament.

Heavyweight Royal Rumble

KillerHurtz also participated the Heavyweight Royal Rumble at the end of the tournament, but lost to BioHazard.

Season 1.0[]

KillerHurtz vs. Knome II

KillerhurtzvsknomeII sf00

KillerHurtz decapitates Knome II.

KillerHurtz's first match of the season was against Knome II. At the sound of the buzzer, KillerHurtz charged straight at Knome II. It fired its axe as it shoved Knome across the arena towards the spikes, decapitating the much taller novelty robot. KillerHurtz charged the now immobile Knome II again, destroying more of the robot, but managed to immobilize itself in the spike strip in the process. Though both robots were immobile, KillerHurtz was deemed the winner due to the damage it caused to Knome II.

KillerHurtz vs. Monster

Killerhurtzvsmonster sf00

KillerHurtz gets its axe into Monster.

KillerHurtz advanced to the Round of 16, where it was pitted up against the veteran robot Monster. This match was not televised in full, but highlights of the battles were shown on Comedy Central. At some point near the beginning of the battle, KillerHurtz managed to land a crucial hit on Monster with its axe, breaking one of Monster's drive chains. Soon after however, the speed controller processor on KillerHurtz failed, restricting KillerHurtz drive to a slow forward speed. Despite this, Monster became trapped on the spike strip, which resulted in it being counted out. As the countdown proceeded, KillerHurtz crawled towards the now immobilized Monster, delivering a final hit with its axe as the match ended. KillerHurtz won by another knockout and was once again in the quarter-finals.

KillerHurtz vs. Mauler

Mauler vs killerhurtz 1

Mauler rips off KillerHurtz's axe before it was immobilized.

KillerHurtz’s next opponent was the substantially upgraded and destructive Mauler. Before the match began, KillerHurtz was fitted with a rear Lexan wedge, with the intent of using it to push Mauler and/or slow it’s spinning chains. KillerHurtz was also fitted one of Team Delta's R/C switches so that the team could reset the processor of the speed controller interface remotely. During staging, John Reid positioned KillerHurtz such that it was aiming toward the diagonal of the red square; the rational being to charge Mauler at full speed by going around the killsaws and hellraisers in the center of the battlebox. At the start of the match, Mauler accelerated its spinner as KillerHurtz darted across the box in an attempt to stop it; unfortunately, KillerHurtz lost some traction, sliding into a tailspin, causing John’s initial plan to fail. Nevertheless, KillerHurtz charged Mauler and was hit with the full force of its spinning maces. After a few more clashes, KillerHurtz attempted to back into Mauler to try to slow its weapon down. However it was of little effect because a piece of KillerHurtz's Lexan was easily ripped off by Mauler. KillerHurtz then attempted to attack Mauler with its pickaxe, but Mauler easily ripped it off and launched it across the arena. KillerHurtz bumped Mauler one last time, and the impact sent Mauler into the killsaws, a hit that immediately incapacitated Mauler’s disk and drive train. KillerHurtz rammed Mauler one final time, causing its axe bump to become tangled up with one of Maulers maces. John Reid signaled to the referee that the bots were stuck together and needed to be separated, but this proved unnecessary as the Tilfords had tapped Mauler out. Mauler had ceased functioning due to a disconnected radio receiver crystal; in a rush to prepare for the match, the team had neglected to properly secure it into its functional position. KillerHurtz won by KO, resulting in one of the biggest upsets in Battlebots history.

KillerHurtz vs. Voltarc

Killerhurtz vs voltarc

Voltarc lifts KillerHurtz against the killsaws.

It was now in the semi-finals, where it fought Voltarc. KillerHurtz immediately charged across the arena but impaled itself on Voltarc's lifting arm. It could not do anything to retaliate, as its axe was destroyed in its previous bout against Mauler and there wasn't enough time to fix it. KillerHurtz was then let free and rammed Voltarc before accidentally driving itself into the killsaws, leaving 2 thin cuts on its front right Lexan panel and preventing KillerHurtz from driving properly as the Lexan panel was pulled down. Both robots charged across the arena, before KillerHurtz bumped into Voltarc and backed off. No damage was done to either robot for a while, as both of them were positioning for an attack. KillerHurtz then drove into the spikestrip and lost its top-mounted union jack. It then drove over the killsaws, further damaging it. KillerHurtz continued driving over killsaws, out of control before Voltarc got underneath and activated its lifting arm. KillerHurtz was lifted onto the killsaws, cutting into the electronics. KillerHurtz was unable to do anything and came out of the fight heavily damaged. Voltarc won on an 8-1 judges' decision and KillerHurtz was eliminated from the tournament.

Heavyweight Royal Rumble

KillerHurtz was repaired in time for the Heavyweight Royal Rumble at the end of the tournament. KillerHurtz began by charging straight at Punjar, but was flipped immediately against the corner of the arena. KillerHurtz could not self-right and was left there for the entire rumble, which was eventually won by BioHazard.

Season 2.0[]

KillerHurtz vs. Lug Nutz

After receiving a first round bye, KillerHurtz was scheduled to fight Lug Nutz, but Lug Nutz had technical issues and was forced to forfeit. This win put KillerHurtz in the Round of 16, where it met GoldDigger.

KillerHurtz vs. GoldDigger

GoldDiggerVsKHz

GoldDigger attacks KillerHurtz.

For the entire fight, KillerHurtz was unable to use its axe, as the team neglected to properly connect the pneumatic lines. At the opening buzzer, KillerHurtz drove straight at GoldDigger, taking a hit from GoldDigger's pickaxe and pushing it into the killsaws. GoldDigger escaped, but KillerHurtz reversed and slammed into it, sending it backwards. GoldDigger began spinning again, hitting KillerHurtz with the pickaxe, but was driven into the killsaws again. KillerHurtz reversed to set up another slam, but it was apparent that it was now having control issues; the Lexan bot proceeded to speed towards the spike strip in reverse, slamming itself into the wall at full speed. KillerHurtz spent the remainder of the match driving uncontrollably in circles, seemingly only able to go in reverse at a slow speed. GoldDigger seized the opportunity to land several blows on the barely mobile KillerHurtz with its pickaxe until time ran out. GoldDigger won on a 38-7 judges' decision and KillerHurtz was eliminated from the tournament again.

During the post fight interview, John Reid explained that KillerHurtz's erratic driving was due to the onboard computer crashing, causing the custom built speed controller to malfunction just as it did during the fight with Punjar during Las Vegas 1999.

Heavyweight Royal Rumble

KillerHurtz then participated the Heavyweight Royal Rumble at the end of the tournament. It started out strong, ramming several bots while attempting to land a blow with its now functioning axe. It was overturned by Biohazard shortly after the start, but was able to right itself. At some point during the rumble, KillerHurtz managed to hand a direct hit to one of the linear actuators controlling Biohazard's arm, disabling it for the remainder of the rumble. After charging a few other robots, KillerHurtz was eventually somehow immobilized, and lost out overall to Tazbot.

Season 3.0[]

KillerHurtz vs. Center Punch

KillerHurtzvsCenterPunch sf01

KillerHurtz pushes Center Punch under the pulverizer.

Due to its seeding, KillerHurtz was allowed to skip the preliminary rounds of Season 3.0 and faced Center Punch. In the beginning of the match, KillerHurtz pushed Center Punch onto the killsaws and then rammed it against the spikestrip. After Center Punch tried to drive away, KillerHurtz pushed Center Punch against the spikestrip again and got underneath it momentarily. Moments after, KillerHurtz drove Center Punch under the pulverizer and Center Punch suddenly stopped moving. Center Punch was being pounded by the pulverizer as it was being counted out. KillerHurtz won by knockout at 2:13 and advanced to the Round of 16.

KillerHurtz vs. Omega 13

Killerhurtzvsomega13 sf01

KillerHurtz attacks Omega-13 with its axe.

Following a knockout win, KillerHurtz faced Omega-13. KillerHurtz drove towards Omega-13 very quickly, pushing it into the killsaws and hitting it with its axe, which got stuck in Omega-13. Using this advantage, KillerHurtz dragged Omega-13 into the killsaws before the match was halted to separate the bots. This took several minutes using hammers and crowbars, and during this effort, the chain slipped off the pinion, which prevented the axe from returning to its original position. KillerHurtz relied on continuously driving Omega-13 into the killsaws and chasing it around the BattleBox. KillerHurtz won on a 30-15 judges' decision and advanced to the quarter-finals.

KillerHurtz vs. HexaDecimator

HexyDvsKillerHurtz SF01

KillerHurtz gets its axe into HexaDecimator.

In the last eight, KillerHurtz faced HexaDecimator. KillerHurtz drove around HexaDecimator but was immediately flipped over. It eventually self righted, but was flipped again. After self righting for a second time, KillerKurtz hits HexaDecimator with the axe and dragged it into the killsaws. KillerHurtz and HexaDecimator eventually had to be separated. After the match resumed, KillerHurtz managed to get in a few blows with the axe and pushed HexaDecimator into the killsaws again, but was flipped once more. It self-righted once again but was very quickly flipped over again and again but then lost the ability to self-right due to a mechanical problem. The time ran out and HexaDecimator won on a 32-13 judges' decision, which meant KillerHurtz was eliminated from the tournament once again.

Heavyweight Royal Rumble

KillerHurtzHWRumble sf01

A flipped KillerHurtz next to a flipped Little Sister.

KillerHurtz returned to participate in the Heavyweight Royal Rumble at the end of the tournament. KillerHurtz immediately drove straight at Nightmare and then started to attack Omega-13 with its axe, but missed. KillerHurtz moves to the center of the BattleBox and chargec into the rear of Little Sister, before turning its attention to Tazbot. John Reid pushed Donald Hutson's bot towards a big pile up of heavyweights and backed up to pick its next victim. KillerHurtz charged into frenZy and returnde to the center of the BattleBox. KillerHurtz then started pushing Voltronic under Nightmare and backde away shortly after. KillerHurtz drove into Nightmare again and pushed it next to Voltronic. As KillerHurtz was fighting Voltronic, HexaDecimator got its lifting arm under KillerHurtz and flipped it onto its back again. KillerHurtz could not self-right and was left near the corner of the arena for the rest of the rumble. In the end, HexaDecimator was declared the winner of the rumble despite the efforts of KillerHurtz.

Season 4.0[]

KillerHurtz vs. Little Sister

KillerHurtz vs Little Sister SF01B

KillerHurtz gets flipped by Little Sister.

Killerhurtzvslittlesister sf01b

KillerHurtz axes Little Sister.

Thanks to its seeding, KillerHurtz was allowed to skip the preliminary rounds again. In its first fight, KillerHurtz met a fellow British robot in Little Sister. It was fitted with side skirts in this fight to protect it from Little Sister's flipper. It attacked head on and attempted to attack with the axe, but missed, allowing Little Sister to flip it over. It self righted, but was flipped again and pushed into the screws. It got away and came back on the attack on Little Sister, which had already been immobilized due to a fried Vantec speed controller. KillerHurtz continued to axe Little Sister as it was counted out, meaning KillerHurtz progressed to the Round of 16.

KillerHurtz vs. Surgeon General

SGeneralvsKillerHurtz sf01b

KillerHurtz gets hit from the side by Surgeon General.

For this fight against Surgeon General, KillerHurtz was going to add a snowplow from Team K.I.S.S. but the team found that doing so would have meant taking the axe off to make the weight limit. They instead fitted pieces of metal at the front to defend itself from the flywheel of Surgeon General. This worked well at first, allowing KillerHurtz to slam Surgeon General head on and momentarily stop the flywheel and Surgeon General too. KillerHurtz ended up right next to Surgeon General, which came back to life and, after spinning the flywheel up to speed again, came around one of the unprotected sides of KillerHurtz and delivered a devastating blow, almost ripping it clean off and tearing off a low pressure elbow connector. Surgeon General attacked the vulnerable KillerHurtz once again, this time on the other side, damaging the armor and ripping a wheel out. KillerHurtz's speed controller had been causing problems and eventually left KillerHurtz immobile. KillerHurtz was counted out and was eliminated from the tournament.

Because KillerHurtz suffered so much damage from Surgeon General, KillerHurtz was unable to participate in the Heavyweight Royal Rumble at the end of the tournament.

Wins/Losses[]

  • Wins: 12
  • Losses: 7
Competition Wins Losses
Long Beach 1999 Punjar
Nightmare
Vlad the Impaler
Rhino
BioHazard
Las Vegas 1999 Malicious Mischief Punjar
Season 1.0 Knome II
Monster
Mauler
Voltarc
Season 2.0 Lug Nutz (forfeit) GoldDigger
Season 3.0 Center Punch
Omega-13
HexaDecimator
Season 4.0 Little Sister Surgeon General

Mark Beiro Introductions[]

"From Oxford and Oxon in the United Kingdom, weighing in at 196½ pounds with a number 2 ranking and from the creative mind of John Reid & Dominic Parkinson. Introducing KILLERHURTZ!"

"From Oxford, England at 205 pounds of head splitting, cherry tree chopping, axe wielding power. KILLERHURTZ!"

"The prime minister of pain, the king of carnage by his satanic majesty's request. Here is KILLERHURTZ!"

"To hell with kippers for breakfast, this British robot wants to make a meal out of its American opponent. Here is KILLERHURTZ!"

"Leaving other bots hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way of KILLERHURTZ!"

"He's vicious, he's malicious and he finds other bots delicious. This is KILLERHURTZ!"

"It rips you apart and laughs when your blood spurts. You don't stand a chance against KILLERHURTZ!"

"You'll be knocked off your perch and left in the lurch when this bot performs your body cavity search. Grab your ankles for KILLERHURTZ!"

"He shot a man in Reno, bludgeoned a cashier in Portworth and violated a guinea fowl in Spokane. Introducing KILLERHURTZ!"

Honors[]

KILLERHURTZ
Long Beach 1999
Best Driver Award

Merchandise[]

Any appearances by KillerHurtz in merchandise are listed below:

Trivia[]

  • Team Hurtz tried implementing a 'sucker' to keep KillerHurtz more grounded against opponents looking to get in underneath it.[4] Although this proved unsuccessful in testing, the team would ultimately achieve this with Beta.
  • KillerHurtz used a slightly heavier axe in BattleBots than in Robot Wars due to the higher weight limit for heavyweights.[5][6]
  • In order avoid transporting KillerHurtz's axe through customs, John Reid buried it in the Nevada desert after each BattleBots competition, then retrieved it when he returned to the US the following year to avoid issues with customs. Reid buried the axe underneath a stone located at the side of the road and left it buried after Season 4.0, but eventually retrieved it on a later trip to the United States.
  • KillerHurtz and Little Sister were the first British robots to fight each other in a 1v1 BattleBots match.
    • KillerHurtz's UK successor TerrorHurtz beat Bigger Brother during Series 6 of Robot Wars in the series semi-finals.
  • KillerHurtz was the only UK robot to feature a Slam Cam in the old seasons.
  • Due to its name and likeness being owned by BattleBots at the time, a video game based on Series 4 of Robot Wars featured the yet-to-debut Terrorhurtz as opposed to KillerHurtz.
  • Team members Ian Lewis and George Francis both captained robots which won Robot Wars in the UK, Razer and Chaos 2 respectively.

References[]

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