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Interesting Facts About Kitt From ‘Knight Rider’ That Will Blow Your Mind

Cameron Eittreim June 19, 2023

The Pontiac Trans Am was one the most successful cars to appear in hit movies and on TV. It had a massive string of successes that included appearances in ‘Smokey and the Bandit’ and ‘Knight Rider.’ The latter show was an especially successful run for the Trans Am at a time when the third-generation GM F-Bodies were providing questionable performance. The futuristic styling of the car and star David Hasselhoff put the TV show on the map. The ‘Kitt’ car, as it’s called, is one of the most influential TV cars to this day.

It showed the world that special effects and technology could be used on a television set as well as the big screen. It also helped Pontiac stay afloat at a time when the brand was transitioning from the muscle car era. There was a lot more to the Kitt car than just the outward appearance and a lot of planning went into it. We looked at some of the most interesting facts about Kitt and they may just blow your mind. Check them out here.

Automotive Crime Busting Star

Before Kitt being the focal point of a TV show, there hadn’t been a network television show where a car was the focal point. Sure, you had the Dukes of Hazzard, but the infamous General Lee Charger wasn’t truly the focal point of the show. Kitt was a sidekick. Sometimes, it would display an attitude or humor depending on the episode. A lot of creative writing went into the show, and much of that was for the car (via TV Insider).

Fans were enamored with all of the technology that went into the car. Also, the slick black styling of the Trans Am helped in general. Kitt went on to be one of the few crime-busting stars who just happened to be a car. Knight Rider was one of the most popular shows from the era and the car was a major reason for that.

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Who – Or What – Was KITT?

Kitt was voiced by William Daniels, a movie and TV actor. The show always started with the lone crusader intro. Kitt was the focal point of the show which is why the director went with this opening. The interesting aspect was the fact that the car was piloting itself during the open, again lending credence to the theory that Kitt didn’t need a human (via Rotten Tomatoes).

There was just something ominous about the slick black paint job and the style of the Trans Am looked sinister itself. David Hasselhoff only added to the unique aspects of the storyline that corresponded with the car. Without the infamous intro of Knight Rider, the show might not have been as popular as it was.

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KITT For TATT

The original name for Knight Rider wasn’t actually KITT it was TATT which meant Trans-Am Two Thousand. Obviously, the name was meant to have a futuristic twist to it, but the result was just too long for television. The ’80s were a period when science fiction movies and TV shows were at an all-time high. Calling the car a Trans Am Two Thousand was an ideal choice for the name at first (via Mental Floss).

But most fans and enthusiasts will agree that KITT was a much better name for the car. KITT became synonymous with television cars and crime-fighting TV shows. Its also been said that the KITT car boosted the sales of the Trans AM models. Even though the third generation of the car wasn’t the most popular choice, KITT helped boost its popularity.

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Gadget Lover’s Dream Ride

Take one look at the dashboard of KITT and you are greeted by a plethora of lights and sounds. The dashboard was non-functioning and it was designed for TV purposes only, but the idea was to make the car a tech lover’s dream. The dashboard had two different screens on each side of the steering wheel, which obviously had no functionality in real life (via Inverse).

If the car was real, it would have been well worth over a million dollars with all the technology built into it. Unfortunately, the car was only dressed up for the TV show and almost nothing inside of it was functional. Nevertheless, for science fiction nerds who dreamed about driving a car like this, KITT was unlike anything else on the road.

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Turbos Give You Wings

The Trans AM used in Knight Rider was a turbo-powered model instead of using a V8, which was more popular at the time. Because the turbo was still new when Knight Rider came on the air, the Trans Am was one of the first vehicles to popularize it. There were many stunts and jumps that KITT did in Knight Rider that wouldn’t have been possible if it hadn’t been for the turbo (via Screen Rant).

The turbo boost button was shown prominently on the TV show but it wasn’t functional at all. Nevertheless, special effects like these kept the show interesting and added a pretty unique aspect to it. KITT was a car that changed the way that people thought about the Trans AM and all of these special effects made a difference.

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The Fast And Even Faster

On the TV show, it was said that KITT reached 0-60 MPH in 2 seconds. That wasn’t possible, especially for a 4-cylinder Trans AM. But with the merical of movie and TV magic, the car was able to race around on the screen like nothing. Even though the specs weren’t real it did manage to help sell more Trans AM models (via TV guide).

Black was one of the most popular colors of the car and one of the reasons was because of the TV show. The Trans AM was never going to be as fast as it was on Knight Rider but it was close enough to sell more units. Most people who watched the show didn’t care about the real-life facts anyway.

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One Of A Kind?

There were only a few examples of the KITT car ever built, which makes it extremely rare. When other shows had dozens of examples this show was able to only keep a few since the car wasn’t involved in that many stunts. It’s been said that Pontiac supplied every KITT car to the show for only a $1 payment (via Fandom).

The amount of advertising that the brand got from the car being on the show was priceless. The car was one of the most popular cars of the decade and it was mainly because of what the show brought to the table. There was a whole new generation of drivers who wanted to get behind the wheel of the KITT car.

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KITT And KARR

Every good show has a good and bad element to it, and KITT had an evil enemy. KARR which was known as the Knight Automated Roving Robot. Both cars were mostly identical except for the paint job and the story. KARR wasn’t featured in a lot of episodes so when it did come on the screen it was a surprise (via Knight Rider Historians).

KITT always came out on top but the fact that there was a rival car was a pretty cool aspect. KARR never gets a good deal of attention and most people who aren’t fans wouldn’t recognize the car at first glance.

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Out Of Retirement Twice

Knight Rider was one of the few shows that were rebooted twice, with a made-for-TV movie adaption. The cool thing about the movie was that it got the fourth generation Firebird as KITT 4000. That car also showed up three years before the production car hit the market. The red paint job was a completely different look for the car at first glance (via Den of Geek).

Knight Rider 2000 didn’t do as well as the show that came before it, and the 2000s adaption of the reboot used a Ford Mustang. This completely changed the feel of the show and traditionalists didn’t go for it at all.

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Knight Rider Changed Pontiac Forever

The Pontiac brand was having a tough time selling cars in the 1980s after the muscle car era died off. Pontiac did pretty well with the sales of the Trans AM thanks to the TV show. The Trans Am styling was similar to this car for the rest of the decade. The fourth-generation Trans Am was a hit and a lot of that success can be attributed to this car (via Medium).

Knight Rider is still one of the most well-known TV shows to this day. It was one of the most popular shows on NBC during the 1980s. David Hasselhoff had a lot of success after the show and moved on to Baywatch fame. But his time with Knight Rider can’t be understated.

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