Commonly hailed as the pioneer of the wedge, La Machine's design was inspired by the visual of a jet skier going over a ramp and being flung into the air, only with the roles reversed - the ramp would charge at the target to create the same effect. Gage Cauchois provided the drive for the robot and was responsible for suggesting the scoop design, after the team had originally intended on two helicopter blades for its primary weapon. For its time, La Machine was exceptionally fast and easily got underneath other robots, using its superior drive power to ram them against the wall.
La Machine won the 1995 middleweight tournament, and finished second in both the 1996 and 1997 heavyweight divisions, falling only to BioHazard both times. It did, however, remain undefeated in rumbles, winning both the middleweight and heavyweight rumbles in 1995, backing these up with heavyweight rumble victories in both 1996 and 1997. It received upgrades ahead of the 1996 event, chief among which was a larger scoop design. This new build pushed La Machine into the heavyweight class. In 1997, Scott LaValley of DooAll fame added a pneumatic ram at the top of the scoop to further aid in flipping robots, which remained for its one-time BattleBots cameo. It also sported upgraded, custom-design motors to further enhance its drive power.
The shell of the original La Machine in January 2023.
It returned to competition in February that year in the Underground Robot Street Fight event, fighting Voltarc, DooAll and S.L.A.M., but footage of the event is scarce.[1] La Machine also appeared at the 1999 Long Beach event, though not to compete. It was stripped of its armor and instead used as the "camerabot" seen in many of the fights, getting shots of the action from inside the BattleBox.
The original La Machine in 1995.
La Machine's 1996 US Robot Wars appearance.
Inside the 1997 build of La Machine.
La Machine takes on S.L.A.M. at Underground Robot Street Fight in February 1999.
La Machine fights Voltarc at Underground Robot Street Fight in February 1999.
La Machine and DooAll square off at Underground Robot Street Fight in February 1999.
La Machine and Ginsu at the February 1999 event.
La Machine (far right) as a camerabot during Long Beach 1999.
La Machine, Ginsu & Dreadnought vs. Chinkilla (Exhibition)
All three robots team up on Chinkilla.
La Machine's only fight in Season 3.0, and indeed in BattleBots, was a 3v1 exhibition battle where it teamed up with Dreadnought and Ginsu to fight Jay Leno's Chinkilla. For this fight, Greg Munson and Trey Roski's Ginsu was operated by The Man Show hostsAdam Corolla and Jimmy Kimmel. It did not play much of a part in the early portion of the fight, accidentally ramming into Dreadnought. It later set its sights on Chinkilla, maneuvering it around the corner of the BattleBox despite being significantly lighter than the 450lb bot and attempting to get its ram into play. All four robots returned to the center of the arena and La Machine got lifted by the hellraisers before getting caught on an imperfection in the floor. It then drove into the spinning discs of Dreadnought and bounced away as the celebrity-driven Ginsu ran straight into the spikes. La Machine and Dreadnought wedged under either side of Chinkilla as La Machine activated its pneumatic ram again, but then drove into its teammate as Jay Leno's bot escaped again. It then tussled with Chinkilla and coerced it onto the piston hazard momentarily. As Dreadnought fought it near the side of the arena, both Ginsu and La Machine charged at Chinkilla before it drove away. Chinkilla rammed Ginsu towards the killsaws and La Machine attempted to distract it as Dreadnought played tug of war against its significantly heavier opponent. With twenty seconds to go, Dreadnought and La Machine teamed up to push Chinkilla near the pulverizer, but could not get it under the hammer. The time ran out with all four robots still mobile, and Chinkilla won on a close 23-22 judges' decision, one which proved unpopular with the live crowd.
La Machine featured during the 2018 season as the final competitor listed of the 56 robots, leading to speculation and rumor surrounding its return. It even appeared in the bottom-right corner of the graphic illustrating the field of robots. However, La Machine was used only as a placeholder for Raven, the sole withdrawal from the competition.
A "reveal" graphic was even made for La Machine, which still exists within the modern BattleBots website.
