

The greatest of all time was Blendo:
Designed by Jamie Hyneman (of Mythbusters fame). It consists of a 5hp lawnmower engine powering a circular saw blade, encased in a dome made from a wok. The thing was so dangerous Jamie almost lost a foot starting it up (using the ripcord to start the lawnmower engine).
It was undefeated. It tore the ever-loving hell out of anything it faced, frequently launching dismembered parts of its opponents into the crowd at terrifying velocity. It was simply too dangerous to be allowed to continue competing, so it was retired!
Why not Solar? I have fairly recent Casio (FX-260 Solar II) and it works in dimmer lighting conditions than I’m comfortable working under anyway. Under normal lighting (for being able to see while doing math with pencil and paper) it’s rock solid!