"Knight Rider" Ride Up For Sale
KITT, the flame-throwing, river-jumping, talking muscle car from the American '80s TV show "Knight Rider" starring David Hasselhoff is up for sale.
Restored to its debut-season glory, the modified black 1982 Pontiac Trans Am is offered at $149,995 at a California auto dealership. Johnny "Vette" Verhoek of Kassabian Motors has had the car, officially called Knight Industries Two Thousand, on display for about a month.
It is one of four documented "camera cars" used for close-up shots and scenes where Hasselhoff, who played Michael Knight in the series, was behind the wheel.
Although it cannot achieve the 300 mph speeds that KITT reached, soar 50 feet in the air or throw smoke bombs, key features of the star car are intact. Perhaps most important, the red scanner light on the nose glows and makes a humming noise.
Most of the buttons in the cockpit do not do anything, Verhoek said. Nor can the car talk or drive itself.
KITT isn't even street legal because of missing smog equipment and other modifications. Whoever buys the car will probably keep it in a private collection, or it may be purchased by a museum, Verhoek said.
The car belongs to Tim Russo, a Kassabian customer who figured now was a good time to test the market, with the 25th anniversary of the show's debut coming up.
Russo purchased the car 10 years ago at an auction in San Diego, and has spent the last decade finding parts to restore it.
© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Restored to its debut-season glory, the modified black 1982 Pontiac Trans Am is offered at $149,995 at a California auto dealership. Johnny "Vette" Verhoek of Kassabian Motors has had the car, officially called Knight Industries Two Thousand, on display for about a month.
It is one of four documented "camera cars" used for close-up shots and scenes where Hasselhoff, who played Michael Knight in the series, was behind the wheel.
Although it cannot achieve the 300 mph speeds that KITT reached, soar 50 feet in the air or throw smoke bombs, key features of the star car are intact. Perhaps most important, the red scanner light on the nose glows and makes a humming noise.
Most of the buttons in the cockpit do not do anything, Verhoek said. Nor can the car talk or drive itself.
KITT isn't even street legal because of missing smog equipment and other modifications. Whoever buys the car will probably keep it in a private collection, or it may be purchased by a museum, Verhoek said.
The car belongs to Tim Russo, a Kassabian customer who figured now was a good time to test the market, with the 25th anniversary of the show's debut coming up.
Russo purchased the car 10 years ago at an auction in San Diego, and has spent the last decade finding parts to restore it.
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I for one grew up watching the show and loved it. I thought Bonnie was amazing - beautiful and intelligent - what more could a guy want?
I'd love to meet Hasselhoff, or even see KITT, but alas - dreams are just that.
I also know a former police officer who has a replica car & a miniature go-kart size replica which he uses to teach children about safety. He met David on set in 1985 and to this day, his non-profit program is the only child safety program in the country ACTUALLY endorsed by Hasselhoff himself. Would love to see the two together again.
Whomever buys this car for $149,000 is an IDIOT!!!
"...keep it in a private collection, or it may be purchased by a museum, Verhoek said."
Yeah, the museum of JUNK