Autoblog

click above for more new high-res images of KITT

As we all know, Knight Rider will be returning to television this Sunday at 9PM EST on NBC. The new Michael Knight played by Justin Bruening and his car companion KITT, voiced by Val Kilmer, made an appearance on the Today Show this morning (disclaimer: the Today Show is also an NBC program) to promote the mini-movie that will eventually become a full series next fall. Bruening reveals a bit more about the story we'll be watching this Sunday, some of which we already knew and a few new bits. His character is playing the estranged son of the original Michael Knight, a role that will be reprised by David Hasselhoff himself in the movie, though the new Mike Knight is unaware the guy standing next to him with the same name is his dad. Bruening also reveals the loophole that supposedly fills in the 25-year gap between the original series and the new one, which is that the original writers never identified KITT's inventor. OK, well we'll have to see how that one plays out. Ford, meanwhile, which paid a pretty penny to have the GT500KR Mustang play the part of nuevo KITT, has released three more photos of the Knight Industries car, which make lovely desktop wallpaper backgrounds if you're a true fan. We'll decide our degree of fanboyosity after we watch the movie this weekend.


[Source: Jalopnik, Ford]

UPDATE: TV Squad has live coverage of the unveiling.

click either image for high-res gallery of the new KITT on Knight Rider

NBC held a press conference today officially announcing the return of Knight Rider to network TV. The new show will debut as a two-hour movie on February 17th with a cast that includes Justin Bruening, Deanna Russo, Sydney Tamiia Poitier and Bruce Davison. Also confirmed is the return of David Hasselhoff in the role of an elder Michael Knight. Finally, the character we care about most, KITT, has been officially confirmed as a Ford GT500KR. The voice of KITT will also be none other than Will Arnett, husband of Saturday Night Live's Amy Poehler and ex-alum of the TV show Arrested Development.

There will actually be three versions of KITT in the show: a 540-hp standard version of the character named KITT Hero, a super high-speed version that's heavily modified for combat called KITT Attack (click here to view his body changes), and a driverless version called KITT Remote. According to NBC, KITT in the modern era is a supercomputer capable of hacking anything that plugs into a wall, and thanks to progress made in the area of nanotechnology, its body can shift both its shape and color.

Follow the jump for the official press release from NBC, including a brief rundown of the premier's storyline.

[Source: NBC]

Do you know what KITT stands for? Or what KITT"s top speed was? Do you know the name of Michael Knight's boss? Did you know George Barris built the convertible and super-pursuit versions of KITT? Do you know the license plate KITT wears? No? Dude, you are so not ready for the new Knight Rider movie. You've got about a year to prepare, and the "Knight Rider Legacy Unofficial Universe" is your Cliff's Notes. Or you could just watch every episode, now available on DVD. Unofficial Guide to the Knight Rider Universe - $21

Next up: What day is today?

The rumor that K.I.T.T. will be played by a Mustang in the upcoming Knight Rider TV series appears to be true. That is, assuming someone with a lot of time on his hands didn't mock up a Hoff-ified Mustang just for the hell of it. That's extremely doubtful, as the car you see above is actually wearing the body kit of a Shelby GT500KR, which isn't easy to come by for weekend projects. Nope, if we take the pic at face value, then the only conclusion possible is that K.I.T.T. will be played by a 550-horsepower Shelby GT500KR in black with silver racing stripes.

K.I.T.T.'s trademark running red light bar has been relocated up and into two nostrils that sit atop the GT500KR's hood. It's a natural fit, though we have to question the silver stripes that, while a trademark of the GT500KR, are totally harshing on K.I.T.T.'s blacked-out super stealth persona.

General Motors is probably a bit bummed that one of its cars wasn't tapped to play the part. But unless show creators agreed to a four-door K.I.T.T. and used the Pontiac G8, the car was definitely not going to be a Pontiac (we hear the Hoff can't fit in a Solstice). And GM is no stranger to stealing acting roles away from other automakers. Volkswagen is probably still pissed off that a Camaro played Bumblebee in Transformers.

Click the Read link to view a couple more pics over at Jalopnik.

[Source:Jalopnik]

Our friends over at Cinematical are reporting that the upcoming Knight Rider TV pilot will star soap opera stud Justin Bruening as Michael Knight's son. So far as we can tell, the script remains the same as we had heard a few weeks ago, and Steve Shill remains the director. Still no definite word if David Hasselhoff will make an appearance on the show.

The casting of Bruening in the lead role is strangely similar to Hasselhoff's being chosen for the original series. Hasselhoff was also a daytime soap opera star before driving K.I.T.T., and was almost the same age as Bruening (28) at the time.

Should we go just ahead and predict a revival of Baywatch with Bruening as a buff and tan lifeguard, too?

And, oddly enough, there's also a Michael Knight on the All My Children cast. Hmm.

[Source: Cinematical, photo by Evan Agostini/Getty]

The original Knight Rider only lasted four seasons, but after seeing the monumental success of Transformers, executives at NBC think a new KITT would make a big splash on the small screen. Veteran producer/director (and David Hasselhoff sorta-lookalike) Doug Liman, has already been tapped to produce the series, and execs from the Peacock are working with automakers to line up a product-placement deal.

If all goes well, we could see Knight Rider part deux next fall, but at this time there's no director attached (though Liman, who has directed hits like Swingers and The Bourne Identity, is reportedly open to the idea of helming the 2-hour pilot himself). Casting the Michael Knight character will surely generate much interest and speculation, and we're curious to see who Liman ultimately taps for the role. As for the Hoff himself, there's no indication he'll be a part of the series, but we think it wouldn't be the same without him. Wait... it might actually be better. We imagine that with this TV revival moving forward, the rumored big-screen adaptation is dead.

Thanks for the tip, Alex!

[Source: Variety]

America's Got Talent wasn't lacking for talent in the stripper department with Michelle L'amour in the house. And a smart stripper, too -- it's not often the contestants think to play to a judge's (i.e. David Hasselhoff's) ego. Ms. L'amour put together this creative bit starring a KITT lookalike and featuring the theme song with risque, albeit kitschy, sound bytes scattered throughout, melding a few of the things boys like best: sexy women and cars.

Did she win? Brandy obviously wasn't enthused with the Finance major-turned-stripper's antics, evident as she punched the strike buttons of her fellow judges, but it was the viewers who eliminated her in the semi-finals. Thankfully, her stripteases remain on YouTube for the forseeable future.

Thanks for the tip, Dylan!

[Source: YouTube]

Someone was asking the other day if trading their gas-hungry Mustang for a hybrid Civic was a good idea. Essentially what they wanted to do was wager gas prices were not going down any time soon and could likely go higher. But you don't have to give up high-horsepower driving just to place a bet on future pump prices. BetUS.com will let you keep the 'Stang by taking your bet that we'll soon see a $4-a-gallon national average. Right now, neither yes or no is favored, both with money lines of -120 for an average gas price above $3.50 before 2008.

Or maybe you like a long shot. In that case, the site will take your wager on whether the Earth will run out of oil by 2050. Pessimists could make out nicely if the wells dry up in few years with a $100 bet earning $1,000. Even longer odds are on gas prices going lower. If scientists announce tomorrow a $4 gadget allowing your car to run on household waste (Mr. Fusion, anyone?) and the average national gas price plummets to less than $1 a gallon, your $100 bet earns you $15,000. That's a lot of cheap beer and banana peels for your future Delorean.

Cha ching!

[Source: BetUS]

This is a picture-perfect reproduction of the Knight Industries 2000. Unfortunately, after all that money and man-hours, the gooey center is still an '80s F-Body. Canadian seller zapper80 has done an awesome job putting this car together, and claims a cost of over $40,000 CDN. Zapper80 cites original molds as the source for some of the body parts, which leads us to believe that the car was put together from the wealth of parts and information available from the enthusiastic Knight Rider fans on the web. The amount of information, and lines of communication back to KITT designer Michael Scheffe are truly astounding. No matter where everything came from, it's a hoot to see it all lit up, and even better, it all works. Well, maybe not the "Turbo Boost" function that'd send 3000 pounds of Trans-Am hurtling over bad guys. This car probably has more mojo under its hood than the original KITT the Hoff tooled around in while doing good for FLAG.

Still, even with all the effort expended, we think the reserve of $19,000 and the buy it now of $30,000 are kind of loony, even in Canadian dollars. Original fans of the series (some of us Autobloggers included) don't have the deep pockets boomers are using to push vintage musclecar prices sky-high; and perhaps our memories of Michael, Devon, and the gang aren't fond enough that we'd want to be extremely conspicuous. Perhaps the value of these cars will rise to meet zapper's hopes when the Weinsteins debut their Knight Rider movie. For the ulitmate 1984 smackdown, we envision a drag race between one of these, and a Delorean that's been defiled with all the time-machine crap. KITT would so totally kick McFly's ass.

More pictures after the jump

Look what Autoblog fan Omar found for us on eBay. What appears to be just another 1970 Porsche 911 T is, in fact, the closest many of us would ever get to being near Michael Knight and Mitch Buchanan. That's right, this rare sunroof 4-speed car once belonged to DAVID HASSELHOFF! And the seller promises to provide proof of der Hoff's ownership, as well.

We have to surmise that this may have actually belonged to the German Giant during his Knight Rider days rather than his stint at the helm of Baywatch. Apparently Michael Knight endured KITT at work, but preferred German cars when he left for home. Maybe that helps explain the German populace's fascination with his music.

eBay Motors item number 300058989907 still has about 8 days before the hammer falls and the price is only $5,300, so get your click on and get over to eBay. You can even look into getting it gift wrapped if you happen to be in the UK.

[Source: eBay Motors]