What kind of vehicle was KITT?
While KITT was a Pontiac Trans-Am on Knight Rider, the example that Huth brought to Jay Leno's Garage was a base model Pontiac Firebird dressed up as a Trans-Am.
KITT (an acronym for Knight Industries Two Thousand) is a fictional computer that controls the high-tech Knight 2000, a black Pontiac Firebird Trans Am T-top automobile.
(an acronym for Knight Industries Three Thousand) is Mike Traceur's 2008 Ford Mustang GT500KR. A virtual Swiss Army knife-on-wheels, the car features a nanotech driven transformation system, a top speed of 377 mph and a suite of onboard defensive weapons systems.
Despite the car being described as fully functional, it's not exactly the case—at least not in the way Aston Martin recreated DB5 cars from Goldfinger in a very limited number. LiveAuctioneers estimates the value to be somewhere between $175,000 and $300,000 USD.
In both instances, KITT is an artificially intelligent electronic computer module in the body of a highly advanced, very mobile, robotic automobile: the original KITT as a 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, and the second KITT as a 2008–2009 Ford Shelby GT500KR.
The car was eventually sold, restored, and the Historians bought it from that person. It's now the one residing at the Petersen Museum. Owning just one original KITT is something very special, never mind two.
The Knight Industries 4000, or K.I.F.T. was the new FLAG vehicle in Knight Rider 2000. It is a copy of the 1988 Pontiac Banshee IV concept based from a 1991 Mitsubishi GTO or Dodge Stealth.
NBC worked with Ford to make a custom Mustang to be the next KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand). This one-of-a-kind 2008 Ford Mustang was the primary car used in the 2008 Knight Rider NBC TV movie that served as the backdoor pilot for the rebooted television series.
KITT is portrayed as a black 550 horsepower (410 kW) Ford Shelby GT500KR Mustang.
Many of the KITT television show vehicles didn't live long after the shows ended. Ten-to-twelve of them were destroyed after filming ceased, in accordance with an agreement with GM.
Is a car like KITT possible?
Unsurprisingly, a lot of the technology designed in Knight Rider now exists and has often been surpassed. Yet, largely due to the complexity of artificial intelligence, we're still a long way off driving a car like KITT. Elon Musk has been upfront about wanting to create a Tesla that utilizes A.I.
This one-of-a-kind 2008 Ford Mustang was the primary car used in the 2008 Knight Rider NBC TV movie that served as the backdoor pilot for the rebooted television series.
Apparently, five KITT cars survived the show, even after being sent to various museums and theme parks. One was at Universal Studios for a long time, and another was at the NBC theme park. According to a website called KittStillRocks, they own two of the surviving five-screen used “Knight Rider” Trans Ams.