For many of the younger crowds, at least those under the age of 35 the only way they remember David Hasselhoff is being the head lifeguard on Baywatch or from some silly parts he’s had in movies. Go a little younger and the association may only be for the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie or in a spoof part. He’s had a long and successful career and doesn’t seem to mind being cast as a buffoon of sorts or as just the beach bum that ran across the surf on Baywatch to rescue anyone in distress.
What these folks won’t remember is the Knight Rider series that he starred in before his Baywatch days and the car he drove. The car had its own name and that was K.I.T.T. which stood for Knight Industries Two Thousand. This car was amazing as it was built to scan and assist the star of the show in solving mysteries and hunting down bad guys. With KITT as his sidekick Michael Knight couldn’t be beat and was sort of a daytime Batman with tons of gadgets and gizmos that were found in the car which become an icon of sorts for those who grew up while this show was aired.
The KITT car was a 1982 Pontiac Trans Am Recaro and it showed off with a scanner light out front and a dashboard full of buttons and lights to give the information needed to Michael on their missions. This car is actually one that’s been copied many times over and is a car you can build yourself and find some of the parts that make the car look and feel just like the original KITT car. In order to find the parts you need you do have to search on Knight Rider community forums and Craigslist to come across the items you want for your car.
Because you can find the parts and build your own extended nose version of the car it’s hard to know how many of these cars still exist or were used during filming and were sold off, but if you go to a show or you see a 1982 Trans Am with a red scanner light behind you its most likely a replica that’s been built to show off and admire to a generation that still admires this car and gets excited by the possibility of what this car represents.
Of course the one version that would be the most fun to own would be a later model which was the KITT Super Pursuit Mode model which could reach over 300 mph. Can you imagine the 1982 Trans Am rocketing that fast on a track or road anywhere? To think it lets you know how unrealistic this car was, but considering the car was built with artificial intelligence and talked to Michael Knight as part of the show, this wasn’t a show based any part in reality anyway, which was one of the best features of what this series offered.
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