Go-Bot (G2)

The name or term "GoBots" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see GoBots (disambiguation).

Guess which one is the girl. We'll give you a minute.

The Go-Bots are a cross-factional subgroup of land-based Transformers whose alternate modes are finely tuned for maximum speed. Several Transformers have had their forms altered to gain these benefits even at the cost of reducing their advantages in other areas. Ironhide traded in his famed armor plating and Bumblebee has become easier to track by the Decepticons.

The Go-Bots include:

• Autobots:
  • Blowout
  • Bumblebee
  • Double Clutch
  • Firecracker
  • Gearhead
  • Greasepit
  • High Beam
  • Ironhide
  • Mirage
  • Motormouth
  • Optimus Prime
  • Sideswipe
• Decepticons:
  • Megatron
  • Crash Test
  • Frenzy
  • Nightracer
  • Rumble
  • Soundwave
• Jhiaxus's clones:
  • Bumblebee
  • Frenzy
  • Ironhide
  • Mirage
  • Nightracer
  • Sideswipe
  • Soundwave

Toys

Generation 2

• Go-Bots (1995) - Wave 1
  • Blowout - Porsche 959
  • Double Clutch - Lola T94 Indy car
  • Firecracker - Lamborghini Diablo
  • clear Gearhead - Ford Thunderbird
  • High Beam - concept car
  • clear Motormouth - Ford F150
• Go-Bots (1995) - Wave 2
  • Megatron - redecoed Blowout
  • Double Clutch
  • Optimus Prime - redecoed Firecracker
  • Gearhead
  • High Beam
  • Motormouth
• Go-Bots (1995) - Wave 3
  • Bumblebee - redecoed High Beam
  • Frenzy - redecoed Blowout
  • Ironhide - redecoed Motormouth
  • Mirage - redecoed Double Clutch
  • Sideswipe - redecoed Firecracker
  • Soundwave - redecoed Gearhead

Maybe be your baby tonight.

High Beam

Released in 1995, the Generation 2 Go-Bots are small 1:64-scale Transformers cars, the same size as "Matchbox" and "Hot Wheels" brand cars. In fact, Go-Bots were developed to be used with tracks and playsets from those brands, sharing the same smooth-rolling axle/wheel construction that lets the toys be quickly zipped along smooth surfaces.

During Generation 2, three different sets of Go-Bots were released. The initial set consisted of 6 original molds, each representing a new character. The second set was largely the same, replacing all of the transparent plastics with opaques of the same colors. Firecracker and Blowout were replaced by Optimus Prime and Megatron in this set.

As was the case for most of late Generation 2, the complete set of six were completely redecoed and made into new versions of returning Generation 1 characters.

For BotCon 1995, an exclusive redeco of High Beam was released as Nightracer. All six molds were later re-used as the Spy Changers for Robots in Disguise (2001); they were redecorated several times and re-released even more times for that toyline and for Universe (2003).

Unreleased

We don't even exist among stuff that doesn't exist.

A second set of six new molds were developed for late Generation 2. Though all six were complete down to the paint jobs and were close to release, the Generation 2 line was ended before they could be finalized. One of them appears to be a new form for the Generation 1 Decepticon Rumble, as the toy has the word "Rumble" printed on either side its front bumper, while the Jeep has telling 19HOUND960 tampographs on either door. The other three were given the designations "GTP Racer", "911 Police Car", and "Black Viper" in the BotCon 1996 "Toys For Tots" charity auction listings, along with the lesser seen "Purple Mercedes Benz SL500 sport coupé". They have no known names or character associations.

Of particular note is the vendor samples of all six exhibit a particularly nasty design flaw. The hood joint is squared off on one side and the opposite side on the robot body, likely with the intent that the hood would securely "snap" into place. Unfortunately, this actually ends up putting far too much stress on the plastic, cracking the hood joint in one or more places.

Four of the six molds would later finally see retail release in the Robots in Disguise line as the second wave Spy Changers Daytonus, Prowl (2), Side Burn, and Side Swipe, then later as Generation 1 characters for the 2003 Universe line. These releases also corrected the above noted design flaw as well as having some other minor tweaks.

The unreleased Greasepit toy.

The Jeep and Mercedes Benz molds were lost somewhere between 1995 and 2001; their future release remains unlikely. As of BotCon 2002, Hasbro employee Andrew Frankel said that even with the then-recent release of the other four "lost" molds, there had never been searches for the molds for the final two at that point in time.

An early prototype of a Go-Bot "Road Rig" has surfaced, with a proposed redeco of Gearhead as Greasepit. All information suggests this toy never made it past the hand-made, hand-painted state.

Notes

• Even more than the Cyberjets, it's not clear what truly distinguishes a Go-Bot from a more ordinary automotive Transformer, and even their appearance in fiction didn't really clear it up.
• The Go-Bots had the preliminary name of Superfast Wheels.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Go-Bot (ゴーボット Gō-Botto)
• French: Turbo-Transfo
• Italian: Tecnobot

External links

• Go-Bots at TFU.info