Knight Industries Two Thousand, or KITT, the high-tech black 1982 Pontiac Trans Am from the 1980s TV show Knight Rider is up for sale.
The car, restored to its first season condition, is being offered at $149,995 at a Dublin, Calif. auto dealership. Johnny “Vette” Verhoek of Kassabian Motors has had the car on display for about a month.
The car is one of four “camera cars” used for close-up shots and scenes on the show where David Hasselhoff, who played Michael Knight in the series, was driving.
The modified Trans Am cannot actually achieve the 300 mph that KITT reached on the show, or soar through the air or any of other things such as launching smoke bombs, but the car is intact. The red light on the front of the car still glows and makes a humming noise.
The car has two working video screens on the dashboard, and interior has buttons that light up for different modes that include rocket boost, ski mode, slent mode, oil slick, eject, and micro jam.
Most of the buttons in the cockpit don’t do anything, and the car can’t talk or drive itself, according to Verhoek.
The car isn’t even street legal due to missing smog equipment and other modifications that have been done. The car is expected to be kept in a private collection or even a museum, Verhoek said.
KITT currently belongs to Tim Russo of Livermore, Calif. Russo is a Kassabian customer who decided to test the market now that the 25th anniversary of the show’s debut is near.
Russo bought the car 10 years ago at an auction in San Diego. He has spent the last 10 years looking for parts to restore it to its original glory.
Russo enjoyed restoring the car, and learned everything he could about KITT and the show in the process. He talked to people at Universal Studios and learned what happened to the other three “camera cars.”
“During that time I did become a ‘Knight Rider’ fan,” said Russo.
“It’s just one of those cars from TV that people remember, like the General Lee or the Batmobile,” Verhoek said.
Knight Rider debuted on NBC in 1982 and lasted four seasons. The series chronicled the adventures of Michael Knight, a former undercover police officer. Knight fought crime with the help of his indestructible talking car KITT.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2007-04-02-knight-rider-car_N.htm
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/17014088.htm
