WHO can forget the iconic car from the classic 80s TV show, Knight Rider?

Only those born after 1987 or people whose parents made them do stuff on Saturday afternoons instead. That’s who.

KITT – short for ‘Knight Industries Two Thousand’ – the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am fitted with the latest in artificial intelligence and a flashy red light at the front, seemed at the time to have been sent from the future.

The uber-cool motor was driven by Michael Knight (a gorgeous, young David Hasselhoff of course), a former cop who was shot in the face before being saved and becoming an underground crimefighter for the mysterious Foundation for Law and Government (F.L.A.G).

The partnership became a huge favourite, with KITT battling with Knight’s ever-present leather jacket to see who could stay the blackest and shiniest throughout each episode. 

Let’s take a look back at how KITT came to be..

The Beginning of KITT 

KITT and Knight Rider first appeared on TV screens in 1982 after the show’s creators procured three Pontiacs straight off the production line.

Viewers quickly realised KITT was no ordinary talking car; its artificial intelligence was so advanced it could speak and think like a human – and an endearingly well-spoken and slightly camp human at that.

It was also equipped with advanced sensors that allowed it to detect obstacles and recognise faces. On top of all this, KITT had an impressive arsenal of weapons and gadgets that helped Michael take down criminals as well as being almost impenetrable to enemy fire.

The most famous of these weapons, and the one that had schoolboys on the edge of their sofas in anticipation of its next blast, was the turbo boost.

It allowed KITT to jump over seemingly endless queues of cars, assault-rifle toting bad guys and whatever barricade was put up to try to stop it that particular week. 

The Legacy Of KITT 

KITT quickly became one of the most beloved characters on television and is still remembered fondly today. In fact, many modern cars have been designed in homage to him; some even feature similar gadgets such as voice recognition and facial recognition software.

But what happened to the iconic car and where is KITT now?

Firstly It is believed that a total of 25 KITT cars were made for filming the series, but only 23 are confirmed. Out of these 23, all but one car remained in use until the show’s cancellation. Sadly, five out of the remaining 22 cars were not spared and were destroyed at the end of filming mostly due to a rail accident which began as a fortunate stroke for the production crew but ended in them trashing perfectly good motors.

In the spring of 1983, a train carrying Trans Ams from a plant to auto dealers derailed in California. Luckily, none of the cars were harmed, but due to state law, they were no longer eligible for sale. General Motors reached out to Knight Rider and sold the company 10 to 12 cars for a mere $1 each. However, there was one caveat: Since the cars were considered ‘damaged,’ they had to be destroyed after their use on the show was completed.

Of the five cars that survived one was originally used in the Universal Theme Park, was sent to a theme park in Australia for the World Expo ’88 in Brisbane, Queensland. It is now believed to be back in the US.

Two cars, one hero and one stunt car, were retained by Universal for use in the Entertainment Center display. Both originals were later sold to a private collector in the US.

Another car, a convertible, was sold to the former Cars of the Stars Motor Museum in Keswick, Cumbria, England, after disappearing for a while. When the museum closed, the convertible was then sold to the Dezer Collection in Orlando, Florida. The fifth car is thought to be in the possession of a private owner in the UK.

The F.L.A.G. Mobile Unit semi-trailer truck owned by the Foundation for Law and Government was found in a field in Idaho. In the late 1980s, the 1978 Dorsey trailer was converted to transport race cars, and the rear ramp door that was originally used to drive KITT in and out on the series was removed a long time ago.

The Knight Rider Historians are planning to completely restore the trailer to its exact appearance during the series run, albeit on a slightly smaller scale. This is because the interior of the trailer that was shown on-screen was actually a set on the Universal Studios lot and was wider than the actual trailer by several feet.