DESIGNER: MICHAEL SCHEFFE
BUILDER: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
BASED ON: 1982 PONTIAC FIREBIRD TRANS AM
Knight Industries Two Thousand (K.I.T.T.) was an artificially intelligent, fully autonomous vehicle theoretically equipped with a hydrogen-powered turbojet engine, advanced construction, and a battery of tools and weaponry. Knight Rider creator Glen A. Larson chose the then-newly redesigned Firebird as the basis for K.I.T.T. and initially acquired 20 examples for production use. This car, one of four used for the show’s pilot episode, is among the few original K.I.T.T.s that survived destruction later mandated by Pontiac.
Knight Rider was central to NBC’s effort to dethrone CBS’s ratings leader, the Dukes of Hazard. Promotional material at the time featured a side-by-side comparison between K.I.T.T. and the Duke brothers’ car, the General Lee. While the latter was an example of 1970s muscle, K.I.T.T. featured the sleek, modern styling of Pontiac’s newly-redesigned Firebird. Adding to the futuristic look, K.I.T.T. was equipped with an ever-evolving arsenal of tools and weapons, and was a 1980s vision of an autonomous vehicle. One of K.I.T.T.’s most identifiable parts, its front scanner featuring a cycling red light, was an homage to the Cylons in another Glen A. Larson show, Battlestar Galactica.