Terrorhurtz

Terrorhurtz was a robot from Oxford that competed in Series 5-9 of Robot Wars, as well as the second series of Robot Wars Extreme. Terrorhurtz was notable for its powerful axe weapon, among the most powerful in Robot Wars.

It was the second entry from Team Hurtz. Terrorhurtz had a hit-and-miss record in Robot Wars, finishing fourth overall in Series 6 but losing in the second round in Series 5, 8 and 9, while it was disqualified from Series 7 after arriving at the studio in a partially-finished state.

Its name was a pun on the SI unit of frequency, "hertz", with the prefix "tera".

Design
Terrorhurtz was a roughly octagonal-shaped robot with thick polycarbonate and steel armour, two-wheel drive and a double-headed 'headman's style' axe. The axe was attached to a rack-and-pinion system driven by a single pneumatic ram, which was initially powered by a buffer tank feeding in from numerous CO2 canisters. Terrorhurtz's axe was designed to attack from both the robot's front and back with equal efficiency, served as the robot's srimech and was so powerful that it could lift the robot's chassis off the ground, leading to its weakness being cited as 'unpredictable spasms'. Terrorhurtz also featured a low ground clearance due to its side skirts, and a top speed of 12mph, later 11mph. In Series 6, a pair of wheelie bars were added to the rear of Terrorhurtz in an attempt to stabilise the robot when the axe fired, allowing the axe to be made more powerful, as well as revised steel plates and skirts to offer greater protection around the front, back and sides of the machine. The armour plating was extended further upwards from Extreme 2 to further protect the robot, and Terrorhurtz's name and symbol, featured on the sides in Series 5-6, were removed for this and all subsequent series. For Series 7, Terrorhurtz underwent a significant redesign, sporting thicker armour, a longer and narrower rear section and a rear strut to prevent the robot from leaping off the ground when the axe fired. Additionally, the axe and pneumatics systems received substantial revisions, most notably the use of a single buffer tank and two large fire extinguishers instead of the numerous smaller canisters previously used. However, this evolution of Terrorhurtz was not seen on TV, as it was disqualified from Series 7 after it arrived at the studio incomplete. In 2016, Terrorhurtz received considerable upgrades, including a weight increase to 107kg (106kg in Series 9), the switch from Ni-Cad to lithium polymer batteries and the use of thicker steel and polycarbonate armour plating. Additionally, the axe sported a new titanium head, and was modified to fire at speeds of 100mph and with a tonne of force upon impact. Its broad front scoop gives Terrorhurtz added resistance to spinners, although its internals and wheels have become more exposed to overhead attacks.

An largely unchanged version of Terrorhurtz returned for Series 9, featuring a new front wedge and extra internal padding.

Series 5
Terrorhurtz's first appearance came in Heat L of the Fifth Wars, where it was drawn up against the Ming 3 in the first round. Terrorhurtz drove wide of Ming 3 at the start of the battle, before avoiding its opponent's crushing beak and then coming down with two axe blows on top of Ming 3's weapon. Terrorhurtz then moved into the centre of the arena, where it missed with its next swing. Terrorhurtz then came in with another attack of its axe, and connected with a hit to the top of Ming 3's wedge, before hitting Ming 3's crushing arm three times in quick succession. "They were represented by Killerhurtz before. Not greatly successful; they needed more potency, and they've got it with that axe - slamming down on Ming 3."

- Jonathan Pearce as Terrorhurtz starts strong

Ming 3 finally managed to breach Terrorhurtz's ground clearance as it swerved in on the turn, but got under Terrorhurtz at an angle which meant that its beak was in the wrong position to crush down on the top of Terrorhurtz. Ming 3 still adapted to the situation though, as it brought its beak down onto one of Terrorhurtz's side skirts and dragged it backwards. Suddenly though, Matilda hurtled out of her CPZ and clattered into the back of Ming 3, which mangled Ming 3's rear armour and left it immobilised over a flame jet. Terrorhurtz was also unable to retreat, as it was balanced on Ming 3's wedge, which left its wheels suspended above the arena floor. Refbot and Dead Metal then came over to separate the two, with Terrorhurtz finally moving away after untangling itself from Dead Metal. With the battle approaching a judges' decision, Matilda came in with one more attack, adding further damage to the already mutilated back armour of Ming 3. Finally, cease was called, with the judges called to make a decision. However, due to Matilda's unfair interference, the judges only took into account what happened in the battle up until the House Robot damaged Ming 3. This wasn't enough to help Ming 3 avenge the damage inflicted by Matilda though, as the judges went in favour of Terrorhurtz, which progressed to the second round as a result.

In the second round of the heat, Terrorhurtz was drawn up against newcomers to the main competition Fluffy, which inflicted severe damage on the 23rd seed 101 to reach this stage. In an attempt to deflect Fluffy's attack, Terrorhurtz was attached with a "Fluffy Launch device" to the side - a long pole with a cardboard triangle on the end.

Terrorhurtz parked itself in a notably close position to Fluffy before the battle began in an attempt to drive at Fluffy straight away to keep the speed of its weapon down. With activate called, Terrorhurtz immediately came onto the attack, and axed the top of Fluffy multiple times. Fluffy then went on the retreat, dodging further axe attacks from the pursuing Terrorhurtz in the process. Suddenly, Fluffy turned around Fluffy and crashed into the side of Terrorhurtz that didn't have the "Fluffy launch device". One large blow from Fluffy's spinning axe ripped off Terrorhurtz's side plate and cracked open its gas valve. Terrorhurtz was left crippled, unable to move, which allowed Fluffy to come in with further attacks. "Terrorhurtz are discombobulated! Something has been ripped away from the inside, and they're facing, here, oblivion, from that very strong Fluffy team."

- Jonathan Pearce as Terrorhurtz suffers vital damage

Finally, Refbot came over and counted Terrorhurtz out, before Sir Killalot took Terrorhurtz over to the floor flipper, where it was thrown through the air. Shunt then pierced the underside of Terrorhurtz and lifted it up with his scoop, before placing it into the Pit of Oblivion. Embarrassingly for the House Robot, Shunt's axe was still impaled on Terrorhurtz as he pitted it, and as he was unable to wriggle his weapon free from the beaten machine, he ended up driving himself into the pit with Terrorhurtz. After this, cease was called, and Terrorhurtz exited the competition. "Well, they tricked us. We thought they were fluffy - they're not."

- Dominic Parkinson post match

At the end of the series. Terrorhurtz was nominated for the Best Design Award, but lost out to previous two-time winner Razer.

Series 6
Terrorhurtz returned in the Sixth Wars, and featured in Heat I, where it was drawn against Reptirron The Second, A-Kill and Sabretooth in the first round. Terrorhurtz began the battle by driving at A-Kill straight away, subjecting it to numerous axe blows, with the constant attacks eventually knocking off one of A-Kill's wheel hubs. Terrorhurtz then focused its attention on Sabretooth, and split one of the support beams on top of it, before sending further shrapnel flying as it continued to axe the back of Sabretooth. With Sabretooth showing little sign of life, Terrorhurtz then went over towards Reptirron The Second, slamming a small front panel inwards and then tearing a large gash into the front of it. Terrorhurtz kept its axe impaled in Reptirron The Second and used its purchase to drag its opponent across the arena floor before leaving it to fry on the flame pit. Terrorhurtz held Reptirron The Second over the flame pit for a considerable amount of time before the two robots moved away - although Reptirron The Second quickly ground to a halt in the centre of the arena. "Look at that axe of Terrorhurtz! When they get things going it can be so deadly."

- Jonathan Pearce

Meanwhile, Sabretooth was the first robot to fall, as it was counted out by Refbot. Terrorhurtz then went back to attack A-Kill, before it had the immobile Sabretooth thrown onto its back by the floor flipper. Terrorhurtz carried out further punishment to Sabretooth, while Reptirron The Second saw its Sixth Wars campaign come to an early end as it was counted out by Refbot. Shunt then pitted Sabretooth, and cease was called, sealing Terrorhurtz's path through to the second round, with A-Kill progressing as well.

In the second round Terrorhurtz faced Kronic 2, which saw off threat from Corkscrew and R.O.C.S. in its opening battle.

Terrorhurtz started on the front foot, as it rained axe blows down onto Kronic 2, causing damage in the process. Kronic 2 activated its flipper twice as it desperately tried to defend itself from Terrorhurtz, but Kronic 2 saw its armour dented and warped further before it was pushed into Sergeant Bash's CPZ.

"Looks a very good machine, here, Terrorhurtz. I think they'll give Panic Attack a run for their money in the Heat Final if they get there - and from the evidence of the opening seconds of this battle, they'll get there."

- Jonathan Pearce

Kronic 2 managed to get away from trouble, with the two competing robots then jostling for positions in the centre of the arena. Terrorhurtz's axe appeared to have stopped, but that didn't stop it being the aggressor, as it drove Kronic 2 across the arena floor, over the flame pit and against the arena wall. Kronic 2's spines then caught fire, and although its flipper was functioning fine, Kronic 2 itself had stopped moving. Refbot then nudged Kronic 2 away from the flame pit and over a CO2 jet, which sparked Kronic 2 back into life on one side. Kronic 2 came under pressure from Growler, and sent its spines flying as it used its flipper, before it managed to moved away from the CPZ. Kronic 2 then spun around on the spot, with a strong Terrorhurtz drive sending it into the arena wall once more. Terrorhurtz then reversed into the pit release bumper, while Growler came in to renew its tussle with Kronic 2. Sergeant Bash then came across as well, with Terrorhurtz deciding to ram into the rear of the House Robot while it had its attention on Kronic 2, which had come to a stop once more. "No-no-no, John Reid and Dominic Parkinson, you're not Mr. Psycho... or are you! You're some sort of nutter to have a go at Sergeant Bash in there!"

- Jonathan Pearce

Terrorhurtz's drive saw Bash's back armour drop backwards. Kronic 2 was then counted out by Refbot, and Terrorhurtz spun in celebration, as its place in the Heat Final was confirmed. "We don't normally go around squashing hedgehogs, but in this case!"

- John Reid post battle

In the Heat Final, Terrorhurtz faced former champion, and 8th seeds Panic Attack. Terrorhurtz drove past Panic Attack before swerving around and attacking the top panel of Panic Attack, inflicting notable dents. Terrorhurtz continued to damage Panic Attack, and started to buckle its armour with further impacts from its axe. Panic Attack attempted to retreat, but Terrorhurtz kept up its pressure and repeatedly attacked the back of Panic Attack's panel. Terrorhurtz then attacked the front of Panic Attack, which tried to prevent further axe blows by raising its lifting forks up as a barrier. Terrorhurtz continued to charge though, and drove Panic Attack against an angle grinder. "Look at this - it's systematic. Oh. They are battering Panic Attack into submission! One blow after another raining down, and Kim (Davies) cannot do anything about this whatsoever."

- Jonathan Pearce as Terrorhurtz's axe rhythmically slams down onto Panic Attack

Another powerful drive from Terrorhurtz then backed Panic Attack into a CPZ. Terrorhurtz then moved away to allow Shunt to use his axe on Kim Davies' machine, before Shunt passed responsibilities over to Matilda, who lined up her flywheel before reversing into Panic Attack, with the contact ripping the entire top panel of Panic Attack away and out of the arena. Finally, the seeded machine was counted out by Refbot, and after Shunt subjected Panic Attack to a flip from the floor flipper and a washing machine from the dropzone, cease was called, confirming Terrorhurtz as the heat winner.

In the first round of the Semi-Finals, Terrorhurtz was drawn up against the number 10 seeds Spawn Again, which had reached this stage after edging its way past Short Circuit, Tiberius 3, Spam and Supernova. Spawn Again came under immediate pressure as Terrorhurtz slammed into the front of it with a drive before twice axing down onto Spawn Again's flipper. Terrorhurtz then missed with its next two attacks, with the second unbalancing it and sending it temporarily spiralling out of control. Terrorhurtz regained its composure though, and began to warp and slash away at Spawn Again's shell. Terrorhurtz then edged the sluggish Spawn Again into the clutches of Dead Metal, which brought its circular saw into play. "And I think that repeated axe blow technique of Terrorhurtz, once again, has caused immeasurable damage. Spawn Again simply never got going."

- Jonathan Pearce

Dead Metal then placed Spawn Again next to an angle grinder, where it showed no signs of mobility. Terrorhurtz continued to push and axe Spawn Again as Refbot counted Spawn Again out, before Mr. Psycho paraded Spawn Again around the arena and then placed it on the pit's edge, where Dead Metal pushed it in.

Next, Terrorhurtz came up against number 2 seeds Bigger Brother, which earned its place in the second round of the Semi-Finals by beating Hypno-Disc and Spawn Again in the Losers Melee. Terrorhurtz tried to keep up its fast starts in battles by driving head-on at Bigger Brother straight away. Terrorhurtz connected with a glancing blow with its first use of the axe, while a second attack not only hit part of Bigger Brother's flipper, but also sent one of its own axe buffers flying off. This only proved a minor mishap for Terrorhurtz though, as it continued to pound away at Bigger Brother, buckling its flipper and then driving it up against the arena wall. Terrorhurtz then drifted onto the flame pit while still flailing away at Bigger Brother, which had come to a stop. "Brilliant attack from Terrorhurtz! The improved weaponry has made such a difference, and Bigger Brother is rocking and reeling!"

- Jonathan Pearce

Refbot and Terrorhurtz then prodded and poked Bigger Brother, and suddenly it came back to life. Terrorhurtz tried to shut down the revived Bigger Brother as quickly as possible, ramming it into a CPZ. Shunt and Sergeant Bash then swarmed around the two competing machines, while Terrorhurtz continued to slam down onto Bigger Brother. With Bigger Brother seemingly dormant again, Terrorhurtz backed away and pressed the pit release bumper. Refbot then counted Bigger Brother out, and it was subjected to being thrown by the floor flipper before being dumped into the Pit of Oblivion. "Hats off to Terrorhurtz. They have axed the number 2 seeds."

- Jonathan Pearce

Cease was called, and Terrorhurtz had confirmed its place in the Grand Final.

In the first round of the Grand Final Terrorhurtz faced reigning champions Razer. Both machines met head-on in the opening moments, with Terrorhurtz missing with an attack of its axe. This allowed Razer to edge Terrorhurtz back towards the arena wall as its axe fired manically. Razer then repositioned and pressed down with its claw, crumpling Terrorhurtz's polycarbonate armour on top. "And look at Razer; already crumpling, already ripping, and tearing through that polycarbonate armour, and straight into the heart of John Reid's machine."

- Jonathan Pearce

Terrorhurtz continued to use its axe in an attempt to loosen Razer's grip, and although it dropped down onto the arena floor as Razer attempted to lift it up, Terrorhurtz was then axed by Shunt as it was forced into the House Robot's CPZ. Terrorhurtz moved away and lined up a long drive on Razer, but narrowly missed again with an axe attack as Razer closed in. Razer was then able to resume its hold on Terrorhurtz, and this time it reversed into the pit release trigger before swiftly dumping the flailing Terrorhurtz into the pit of oblivion.

In the Third Place Playoff, Terrorhurtz faced twice previous third place finishers and number 3 seeds Firestorm 4. Both robots slammed into each other on their first engagement. Firestorm 4 then drove around, looking for a gap to exploit, before forcing Terrorhurtz backwards, which fired its axe in retaliation. Firestorm 4's drive saw it swerve off into Shunt's CPZ, and while Firestorm 4 activated its flipper to fend off the House Robot, Terrorhurtz used the opportunity to ram into the back of it before subjecting Firestorm 4 to repetitive axe attacks. Firestorm 4 then spun on the spot to try to avoid further punishment, and although Terrorhurtz had taken out its forwards and backwards drive, Firestorm 4 managed to edge itself away from the axe-wielding machine, which had stopped moving. "Well the axe is working, but apart from that - no. I don't think John Reid's machine is going anywhere."

- Jonathan Pearce

Terrorhurtz's axe continued to move forwards and backwards in an attempt to get going again, but it was unable to regain any mobility, and Refbot counted it out. Terrorhurtz tried to defend itself with its weapon as Dead Metal and Shunt closed in, but that couldn't prevent Terrorhurtz being flipped by the floor flipper and then being dumped into the pit. As a result, Terrorhurtz finished fourth - Team Hurtz's best placing yet.

Extreme 2
"This creates Terror...and Hurts!"

- Jonathan Pearce

Terrorhurtz first competed in the All-Stars in Extreme 2, where it drew Dantomkia and reigning UK champions Tornado. Terrorhurtz tried to axe Tornado straight away, but it missed with its attack. Tornado then drove Terrorhurtz across the arena floor and into the disc of doom tyre, which allowed Dantomkia to slip underneath Terrorhurtz and flip it, but Terrorhurtz landed back on its wheels. Dantomkia then shoved Terrorhurtz to the other side of the arena and flipped it against the arena wall, before using its weapon again and nearly flipping Terrorhurtz out of the arena, which just about balanced on top of the arena barrier before falling back onto the arena floor. "97.7 kilos, then, of Terrorhurtz machinery was left hanging in the balance!"

- Jonathan Pearce as Terrorhurtz narrowly avoids being flipped out of the arena

Tornado and Dantomkia continued their joint attacks on Terrorhurtz, pressing it against the angle grinder, before Shunt came across and pulled Dantomkia aside. Tornado and Terrorhurtz continued to tussle though, with the former continuing to drive Terrorhurtz around, while the latter continued to use its axe. Dantomkia then descended the pit, before another two-pronged attack saw Dantomkia nearly flip Terrorhurtz again. Tornado rammed Terrorhurtz into the arena wall again before Terrorhurtz was pressed by the other two competing machines in Shunt's CPZ. Sergeant Bash came in as well, gripping Tornado, while Shunt lifted Terrorhurtz out of the CPZ with his scoop and left Terrorhurtz on its back. With Terrorhurtz unable to self-right after consistent use of its axe, Dantomkia came in and pushed Terrorhurtz down into the pit of oblivion, and Terrorhurtz's All-Stars run came to an early end. "Gutted, moreso, disappointed!"

- John Reid post battle

In Extreme 2, Terrorhurtz also competed in the Challenge Belt, where it was put up against Iron-Awe 2, Barber-Ous 2 and Vader in the first round. "If you have to ask me, this is the stronger heat, because its got Terrorhurtz out there with that mighty axe."

- Jonathan Pearce

Terrorhurtz focused on Vader from the off and cracked down with its axe twice in quick succession. Iron-Awe 2 then took advantage of the occupied Terrorhurtz and flicked it up onto its side, but Terrorhurtz dropped safely back onto the arena floor. Terrorhurtz refocused itself and continued to attack Vader, which was also being axed by Shunt, and with the two axe robots firing away, Vader was unable to withstand the punishment, and came to a stop. Terrorhurtz then attacked Barber-Ous 2 temporarily, before activating the pit release button. "Terrorhurtz has been formidable, I think."

- Jonathan Pearce

Suddenly, while Vader was being counted out, Iron-Awe 2 had pierced Barber-Ous 2 and then flipped itself over. With Vader being crashed out of the arena by Matilda's flywheel after being counted out and Iron-Awe 2 and Barber-Ous 2 sitting immobile, Terrorhurtz was the only competing machine that was still mobile. Terrorhurtz then tried to decide the outcome of the battle as it pushed Barber-Ous 2 across the arena, before rolling it down into the pit. A Judges' decision was still deemed necessary to decide the outcome of the battle, as Iron-Awe 2 and Barber-Ous 2 were both immobile, but Terrorhurtz safely qualified alongside Iron-Awe 2.

Next, Terrorhurtz faced S.M.I.D.S.Y., after it got past Sir Chromalot and Hypno-Disc in its first round battle. After an aggressive first drive from Terrorhurtz, S.M.I.D.S.Y. darted across the arena and activated the pit. S.M.I.D.S.Y. tried to force Terrorhurtz backwards with a reverse drive, but Terrorhurtz began to cause visible damage in and around one of S.M.I.D.S.Y.'s back tyres. S.M.I.D.S.Y. desperately attempted to move away from Terrorhurtz and into space, but couldn't avoid Terrorhurtz's relentless pressure, as it mutilated S.M.I.D.S.Y.'s top armour. "Basically, S.M.I.D.S.Y., you need the arena floor to collapse, and Terrorhurtz to go down a very, very big, black, and endless hole for you to stand any chance."

- Jonathan Pearce as Terrorhurtz continuously punishes S.M.I.D.S.Y.

S.M.I.D.S.Y. limped around next to the angle grinder in a attempt to stay alive, but another rally of axe attacks from Terrorhurtz finally immobilised S.M.I.D.S.Y. Terrorhurtz then moved aside, and Refbot moved in to count out S.M.I.D.S.Y., before it was flung by the floor flipper and pitted by Sir Killalot.

With its victory over S.M.I.D.S.Y., Terrorhurtz progressed to the final qualification round, where it faced Dantomkia - a second meeting between the robots in that series of Extreme. Terrorhurtz began by attacking Dantomkia and connecting with several axe blows as Dantomkia struggled to breach Terrorhurtz's ground clearance, inflicting a visible gash as well as dents to its opponent. Dantomkia then pushed it backwards before finally stopping the barrage of early Terrorhurtz attacks by flipping it over. Dantomkia followed its attack up with another flip, as it threw Terrorhurtz deep into Shunt's CPZ, before Terrorhurtz righted itself. Terrorhurtz then reasserted itself, with a combination of attacks, as it repeatedly slammed down onto the front and top of Dantomkia, and immobilised it. After another round of hits from Terrorhurtz, it decided to activate the pit before pushing Dantomkia into the pit.

Terrorhurtz had won the right for the final challenge, and went through to face the Challenge Belt holder Tornado - another second meeting for Terrorhurtz.

Tornado got underneath Terrorhurtz instantly, and drove it into the arena wall, missing Terrorhurtz's axe in the process. Terrorhurtz's next attack then fell short of Tornado's front scoop, before the Challenge Belt holders drove away and activated the pit release button. Terrorhurtz chased Tornado, but suddenly found itself between the pit of oblivion and Tornado, and a punctual drive from Tornado submerged Terrorhurtz in the pit within only nineteen seconds. Tornado's quick thinking meant that it had outright won its second Challenge Belt, and Terrorhurtz's challenge ended in defeat.

Series 7
Terrorhurtz was seeded third for Series 7, and was due to fight Killerkat, Jackson Wallop and Gyrobot in its first round battle in Heat B. However, when Team Hurtz arrived at the studio with an unfinished Terrorhurtz, they were barred entry to the building on a "robots must be completed" clause. "I thought if we had another day or so there we might have been able to get something running...rather different from BattleBots where almost all the robots turn up unfinished and you have three or four days to get them ready."

- Team Terrorhurtz on the Seventh Wars disqualification

As an explanation as to why the third seed was not entered, the show filmed the events as if they were happening at the same time, with Stuart McDonald announcing Terrorhurtz's name and seed, and Jonathan Pearce appearing confused by its absence from the arena. A camera crew followed Jayne Middlemiss from Terrorhurtz's empty bench to the outdoor area where Derek Foxwell was breaking the news to John Reid. Terrorhurtz was effectively disqualified from the Seventh Wars without entering the studio at all, and the first round battle went ahead without it.

As veterans of six wars, Terrorhurtz was eligible to enter the All-Stars tournament at the end of Series 7, but didn't compete, mainly because the robot wasn't finished in time for the main competition.

Series 8
Terrorhurtz appeared in the first episode of the series. Before its first battle, Team Hurtz invited Angela Scanlon to hit Terrorhurtz with a spanner as hard as she could. This caused no damage to the robot, demonstrating its much-improved armour. In the first round, Terrorhurtz was drawn against newcomer Nuts; a new robot from a former Grand Finalist team in Kill-E-Crank-E, and the robot that eliminated Terrorhurtz from Series 6, Razer.

Despite the obvious grudge match between Razer and Terrorhurtz being available, the two robots seemed to gang up on their other opponents, with Terrorhurtz in particular targeting Nuts. Terrorhurtz's first blow missed Nuts near the flame pit, causing Terrorhurtz to jump into the air. Continued pushes on Nuts caused it to tumble over, and Terrorhurtz landed another axe blow. Nuts spun in circles in defense, landing a glancing blow on Terrorhurtz, which struck Nuts's wheel. Terrorhurtz then pushed Nuts over the flame pit and into the CPZ, but it was at this point that Razer and Kill-E-Crank-E fell into the pit, putting Terrorhurtz through with Nuts. In the Head-to-Heads stage, Terrorhurtz was first drawn against Carbide, a powerful bar spinner. Recognising the danger of the spinner, having previously lost to this weapon type against Fluffy, Terrorhurtz charged in immediately, its scoop clashing with Carbide's bar. The recoil of this attack threw Carbide over, although it was already becoming clear that Terrorhurtz's axe was broken, and was unable to be fired in this match. Instead, Terrorhurtz had to rely on pushing Carbide around, and it successfully rammed Carbide into an empty CPZ, the arena wall, beyond Sir Killalot, and into the pit release tyre. "This is terrific control early on, here, from Terrorhurtz."

- Jonathan Pearce

Sparks flew as Carbide's spinner continued to clash with Terrorhurtz, but Terrorhurtz was unharmed, and pushed Carbide onto the flame pit, from which it could not escape without House Robot assistance. Terrorhurtz pushed Carbide into the wall again, allowing Terrorhurtz to get behind Carbide and to push it over the lip of the pit, where it laid dormant. Avoiding the bar spinner, Terrorhurtz successfully pushed Carbide down, awarding it 3 points without even requiring its weapon. Next up for Terrorhurtz was Behemoth. Terrorhurtz started strong as it evaded a lift from Behemoth before forcing it into Dead Metal's CPZ. Behemoth then came in with another attempted flip, but missed once more, which allowed Terrorhurtz to carry Behemoth back into the CPZ for a second time. Terrorhurtz continued its pressure as it pinned Behemoth up against the arena wall, but with Behemoth in the prime position to be hit and with Terrorhurtz failing to strike its opponent, it was evident that Terrorhurtz's axe was out of commission once again. Terrorhurtz finally moved away after pressure from Dead Metal, and after one last push on Behemoth, Terrorhurtz left itself exposed, and was flipped over. Dead Metal cut through the base of Terrorhurtz with its saw, severing its gas pipe, and without a working weapon, Terrorhurtz could not self-right, and lost the battle.

"We need to get our axe working, don't we, hahaha! I told you to test the axe!"

- John Reid

Terrorhurtz still had the opportunity to make the Heat Final, but only if it could defeat Nuts via knockout. Terrorhurtz's axe was finally repaired, though it started by pushing Nuts into Shunt. Nuts spun around, and its chain flail became stuck in a small circular opening in Terrorhurtz's armour, above its wheels. When Terrorhurtz struck Nuts with its axe, it held its grip on Nuts's outer ring, and pulled the whole thing off, still staying attached to Terrorhurtz, which used its axe to attack Nuts with its own outer ring. Terrorhurtz even replicated Nuts' main tactic, spinning on the spot with the chain flails still attached. Terrorhurtz continued to push and strike Nuts with its axe, pushing it to the very edge of the pit, but could not secure the victory at that moment. "What a mess! There's no dignity here!"

- John Reid as the battle is waged

Terrorhurtz tripped Nuts onto its side with a slam, and pushed it into Shunt with another, but sustained an axe blow itself. Terrorhurtz's last effort was to try and destroy the Nuts minibot that was stuck underneath it, but it was unable to make contact with any of the swings of its axe.

Although Terrorhurtz was given the victory by unanimous Judges' decision, this meant the victory was only worth 2 points, leaving Terrorhurtz with 5 points overall, equal with Behemoth. Because Terrorhurtz had previously lost to Behemoth, Terrorhurtz was not put through to the Heat Final, eliminating it in third place within the episode.

Series 9
Like in Series 8, Terrorhurtz competed in Episode 1, with another recurrence happening as it faced Nuts 2 in its Group Battle for a second time. Terrorhurtz was also matched up with newcomers Rapid and Dave Lawrie's new machine Jellyfish.

Terrorhurtz immediately went after Rapid, which had charged across the arena itself to throw Jellyfish into the air. Terrorhurtz then drove at Rapid broadside on and pushed it across the arena, before pressing Jellyfish against the arena wall. Terrorhurtz fired its axe, which pushed Jellyfish up onto its side before it fell back down onto the arena floor. One of Nuts 2's minibots then made itself a nuisance, as it slid underneath Terrorhurtz's front wedge. Terrorhurtz fired its axe but missed, although the minibot in question still came loose, and Terrorhurtz comfortably moved it aside. Terrorhurtz then refocused its attacks on Jellyfish, with an axe attack to the right arm of the machine. "Mighty blow from Terrorhurtz."

- Jonathan Pearce as Terrorhurtz axes Jellyfish

After this, Terrorhurtz slalomed up and down the arena floor for a period, as it visibly hunted down Rapid once more. Suddenly, Nuts 2 was sent flying out of the arena after an attack from Matilda's flywheel, leaving the three remaining robots to compete with one another. Terrorhurtz continued to chase Rapid - which was pushing Jellyfish around - and then missed with an attack of the axe. A flip from Rapid on Jellyfish next to the arena wall then allowed Terrorhurtz to charge in and axe Rapid twice in a row. Rapid moved away, with Terrorhurtz in hot pursuit, but it became evident that Jellyfish was struggling for movement after Rapid's flip. Terrorhurtz forced Rapid over the flame pit before cease was called - which confirmed Jellyfish's immobilisation, and sent Terrorhurtz and Rapid through the to Head-to-Heads.

Through to the Head-to-Heads, Terrorhurtz's first opponent was Sabretooth, a robot it fought in Series 6, with John Reid eager for the axe to be working at its full potential for the fight. "We've had a look at the problem. It's so stiff, so we just squirted some lube in the cylinder, and it's... it's... better. It's not as good as it should be, but it's a lot better."

- John Reid before Terrorhurtz's first Head-to-Head battle

Terrorhurtz charged at Sabretooth, which was spinning its drum up to speed. It then drove Sabretooth backwards, but got caught on the pit panel in doing so. Terrorhurtz then pressed Sabretooth up against the arena wall before striking down with the axe in two successive blows. Suddenly, Sabretooth managed to get into enough space to get its weapon up to speed, and in trying to drive Sabretooth backwards again, Terrorhurtz overshot its drive, which exposed its rear to an attack. Sabretooth's subsequent assault sent the rear tail of Terrorhurtz flying, before it flipped Terrorhurtz up and then shattered one of its rear polycarbonate panels. "Oh! And off goes the aluminium tail - and that is absolutely crucial for the weaponry to work properly!"

- Jonathan Pearce as Sabretooth inflicts major damage to Terrorhurtz

With its tail gone, Terrorhurtz was unbalanced, and consistently reared up from this point on. Terrorhurtz decided to move into space before trying to drive at Sabretooth again, but once more, Terrorhurtz's front was sent upwards from a hit by Sabretooth. Terrorhurtz freed itself from Sabretooth by firing its axe after it landed on top of its opponent, while Sabretooth began to emit smoke, which saw its spinning drum cease to function. Suddenly, as Terrorhurtz tried to put pressure on Sabretooth, its left-hand wheel locked up. Without its weapon, Sabretooth tried to push Terrorhurtz, with John Reid using Sabretooth's close-quarters style to try to land an axe blow while on the turn. "Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it! Wait for a good hit."

- John Reid gives Nick Lynch instructions on when to fire the axe

Terrorhurtz missed with three of its attempted axe swings, but hit with another, denting Sabretooth's top armour. Sabretooth then decided to pull away from Terrorhurtz and pressed the arena tyre, which activated Rogue House Robot mode. As a result, Shunt charged Terrorhurtz into the arena wall and axed down into it, punching a whole in Terrorhurtz's firing ram. After this, Terrorhurtz continued to hobble around on the spot, and was finally deemed immobile. Cease was called, and Terrorhurtz had lost its first Head-to-Head fight by KO.

In its second Head-to-Head battle Terrorhurtz was up against Jellyfish, which was reinstated after Rapid was unable to be repaired from the damage it sustained against Aftershock. Terrorhurtz slid underneath Jellyfish with its first drive and brought its axe down onto Jellyfish. After driving Jellyfish back against the arena wall, it became evident that Jellyfish was no longer moving, with Terrorhurtz's axe blow causing the damage. "Oh no - he's not dead already, is he?"

- John Reid after Terrorhurtz's first attack

Terrorhurtz came in for one more attack on the rear of Jellyfish, before the count was complete and Jellyfish was counted out. Terrorhurtz spun around in the centre of the arena while firing its axe in delight, and its first victory in the Head-to-Heads was confirmed, with it gaining 3 points for the knockout victory. In its final Head-to-Head, Terrorhurtz faced league leaders Aftershock, which had already recorded knockout victories against both Rapid and Sabretooth. For this fight, Terrorhurtz was attached with a souvenir in the form of a googly eye, which the team received after they beat Jellyfish in their last battle. "So, the last one we've got to fight is Aftershock - that is a beast of a machine. But we've got this amazing front armour - that's what it's designed for. So as long as I keep my calm and keep the nose at them, we should be okay."

- John Reid before Terrorhurtz's third and final Head-to-Head battle

Terrorhurtz tried to get into Aftershock's face straight away, and took the first hit from its opponent well on its front wedge. However, Terrorhurtz turned around and left its rear exposed once again, which allowed Aftershock to come in to burst Terrorhurtz's back right panel. Aftershock then found itself in Shunt's CPZ after another collision sent both machines rocking backwards. Terrorhurtz kept Aftershock in the CPZ, where Shunt came in and helped Terrorhurtz pin Aftershock up against the arena wall. Terrorhurtz remained at close-quarters with Aftershock as it tried to move away, but Will Thomas' machine held its own in a pushing match and kept Terrorhurtz over the floor flipper. Suddenly, the arena hazard activated, sending Terrorhurtz upwards, with follow through contact from Aftershock's spinning weapon catapulting Terrorhurtz airborne before it crashed back down onto the arena floor. "And up goes Terrorhurtz!"

- Jonathan Pearce

Terrorhurtz quickly regained its composure as it sped away after landing, but its axe was now drooped in a downwards position. Aftershock was next to be caught out by an arena hazard, as it was flicked over by the arena spikes, but its weapon swiftly knocked it back onto its wheels. Both machines engaged head on once more, where sparks flew off Terrorhurtz's front wedge, while Terrorhurtz's axe snapped down to the side of Aftershock's flywheel. Finally, Terrorhurtz was able to retract its axe, but a barrage of Aftershock attacks which ended in Terrorhurtz being flung onto its back snuffed out any chance of a Terrorhurtz fightback. "Is that the end? Is that the end? It's surely the end."

- Jonathan Pearce as Terrorhurtz lies on its back

With its axe only managing to produce nervous spasms, Terrorhurtz was left unable to self-right, and as a result was counted out. This loss saw Terrorhurtz complete its Head-to-Head campaign with a total of 3 points.

Despite the result, Terrorhurtz still had a chance of progressing to the Heat Final, with its future hinging on the last Head-to-Head battle between Jellyfish and Sabretooth, with Terrorhurtz needing a Jellyfish knockout victory for it to join Aftershock in the final battle of the episode. Unfortunately for Terrorhurtz, Jellyfish could only manage to win the battle in a judges' decision, and although this meant that both Terrorhurtz and Sabretooth ended with 3 points apiece, Sabretooth was the machine that went through due to the fact that it had beaten Terrorhurtz in the battle between the two machines earlier in the episode. This saw Terrorhurtz finish third in the league table, where, just like in Series 8, it was eliminated due to the tiebreaker ruling.

Results

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Wins/Losses

 * Wins: 14
 * Losses: 8

Terrorhurtz's disqualification from The Seventh Wars is not counted as a loss.

Outside Robot Wars
Terrorhurtz spent many years competing on the live circuit, and achieved considerable success, winning the Roaming Robots 2004 Winter Tour and the 2009 UK Championships. This enabled it to become the second machine in history to reclaim the UK Championship title, after Chaos 2. It escaped its heat in the 2006 UK Championship, defeating Hard and Velocirippa, but lost a close battle to Storm 2 after getting stuck on the arena wall. As of 2009, Terrorhurtz has joined its predecessor in The Combat Robot Hall of Fame, upgrading from its previous honourable mention.

Terrorhurtz has been relatively inactive since winning the UK championships in 2009, coming out occasionally for big events such as Robot Rumble 2010, the 2011 UK Championships, and the 2013 European Championships. Terrorhurtz recently returned in 2016 fighting at a Robots Live! event against Toxic 2, Behemoth and Earthquake.

During Beta's 'ask me anything' on Reddit, John revealed that Terrorhurtz had been applied to BattleBots reboot, but did not get accepted.

Appearances in Merchandise

 * Terrorhurtz/Robot Wars: Arenas of Destruction
 * Terrorhurtz/Robot Wars: Advanced Destruction

Trivia

 * Terrorhurtz was a primary feature of How to Build a Robot, where a Robot Wars crew member explained various safety measures concerning combat robots, and then used Terrorhurtz as a physical example.
 * Terrorhurtz utilised a wall of polycarbonate panels to combat Razer in Series 6.
 * Killerhurtz had a wall of polycarbonate panels that was to be used if it fought Razer in the First World Championship but it was never seen.
 * Terrorhurtz is one of only five robots to win the UK title twice in Robot Wars/FRA competitions, winning in 2004 and 2009, becoming the second robot to achieve this feat.
 * No robot has won it three times. Terrorhurtz has come the closest to achieving this however, winning the championship twice, but also finishing as runner-up to Kronic in 2005 and Big Nipper in 2007.
 * Terrorhurtz is also one of only 3 FRA champions to have qualified from a heat, the others being Eruption and TR2. However, Terrorhurtz is the only one of the three to have qualified from a heat before becoming an FRA champion.
 * Due to damage caused by Terrorhurtz, both Mighty Mouse and the original Ripper were retired, and replaced with Meggamouse and Ripper Evo. respectively.
 * Terrorhurtz's success over the years has inspired many more axe-wielding robots to be built, such as Team Toon's Tinyhurtz, which greatly resembles the current version of Terrorhurtz.
 * Interestingly, Terrorhurtz made its debut in the video game Robot Wars: Arenas of Destruction, despite the fact the game was based on Series 4 of Robot Wars, and was released before the airing of Heat L of Series 5. The reason for this is because Team Hurtz's entry in The Fourth Wars, Killerhurtz, was originally intended to be in the game, but the rights to the name and likeness of were owned by BattleBots.
 * Terrorhurtz is one of three FRA heavyweight champions to have qualified from a heat, the others being TR2 and Eruption.
 * As of Series 9, Terrorhurtz is the only robot to fall in the second round on a tiebreaker, having done so twice across two series.
 * According to John, Terrorhurtz is easier to drive than Beta due to not having to deal with the weight of the hammer, despite preferring Beta's big hits and looks.

Honours
Nominations
 * Best Design Award - Robot Wars: The Fifth Wars