Cruella was low box wedge shaped robot that competed in the first two series of Robot Wars. In Series 1, it was black with white spots, the contrast of a Dalmatian dog's coat, possibly because its name was a tribute to the villainess from the film 101 Dalmatians, however, it had no weapons. For Series 2, Cruella was blue and red, with a stronger steel chassis and a circular saw as a weapon powered by a Ford Granada windscreen wiper motor whilst the main drive was from Sinclair C5 motors with casters to alter the ground clearance. However the motor for this weapon was exposed and vulnerable to axes and saws, fortunately it did not suffer from this. Whilst performing reasonably well in Series 1, by reaching the Arena stage, Cruella could not repeat this and was knocked out in the Gauntlet stage of Series 2.
In Series 1, the driver Philip Martin was joined by future Robot Wars judge Martin Smith and Kaneesh Lingham. In Series 2, he was joined by Michelle Wheeley, the original driver for the stock robot WYSIWYG in Series 1, a robot which coincidentally was in Cruella's Series 1 heat.
Robot History
Series 1
Cruella in Series 1
Cruella participated in the Gauntlet, and went for Shunt's route. The house robot blocked it, but Cruella tried to break free. It was pushed into a pyramid by Shunt before cease was called, Cruella managed a distance of 10.15m, finishing in 4th, therefore enough to qualify for the Trial stage of the heat, which was football. After Robot The Bruce and Wedgehog both scored. Cruella managed to score the thrid goal, this was largely made possible by the fact that both Dreadnaut and WYSIWYG both became immobilised. Cruella qualified for the Arena stage, where it fought Robot The Bruce. After a large amount of rams from Team Chaos' machine, Cruella then tried to drive away but in its haste got stuck on a grille, this immobilised Cruella, eliminating it from the competition.
Series 2
Cruella's return to the warzone meets an early end
Cruella returned for Series 2, with a brand new circular saw as its weaponry, but unfortunately didn't get a chance to use it. In the Gauntlet, Cruella took the ramrig route, but on its way there, Cruella ran into the ramrig and became stuck. It came unstuck after a shove from Sergeant Bash, before retreating to try and attempt the central route, although it was boxed in and attacked by Matilda and Sir Killalot. The giant house robot forced Cruella back into the ramrig route and against the angle grinders, causing sparks to fly as Sir Killalot ran up the front of Cruella and pinning it in position. Cease was called and Cruella had only managed to cover a distance of 1.9m and was eliminated from the competition against all odds.
Results
| CRUELLA - RESULTS | ||
| Series 1 | ||
| The First Wars - UK Championship Heat, Arena Semi-Final | ||
| Heat C, Gauntlet | 10.15m (4th) | Qualified |
| Heat C, Trial (Football) | Scored 3rd Goal (3rd) | Qualified |
| Heat C, Arena Semi-Final | vs. Robot The Bruce | Lost |
| Series 2 | ||
| The Second Wars - UK Championship Heat, Gauntlet | ||
| Heat I, Gauntlet | 1.9m (6th) | Eliminated |
Wins/Losses
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 2
Series Record
- Series 1: Heat, Arena Semi-Final
- Series 2: Heat, Gauntlet
- Series 3-7: Did not enter
Trivia
- Cruella was a very official-supported machine. Its original team member, Professor Martin Smith would later become a Robot Wars Judge, and was replaced by one of the technical consultants, Michelle Wheeley, ex-driver of WYSIWYG (and also Phillip Martin's girlfriend at that time). It is somewhat surprising that such an experienced team performed quite poorly.