Today I went to NBC studios for the unveiling of the new KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand) for the upcoming two-hour television movie Knight Rider set to air on February 17 at 9 p.m. ET. This modern-day sequel to the iconic 1980's show stars Justin Bruening (Cold Case), Deanna Russo (The Young and the Restless), Sydney Tamiia Poitier (Veronica Mars), and Bruce Davison (Breach). Will Arnett (Arrested Development) will play the voice of KITT. And don't worry, the Hoff will make a guest appearance as Michael Knight.
So, the whole point of the new Knight Rider movie is that KITT is the coolest car ever created and people will do anything to get their hands on it. The car has a supercomputer capable of hacking other computer systems, weapons, and it's body can shapeshift and change colors thanks to nanotechnology (and the magic of television). Plus, the car has artificial intelligence so it is the ultimate crime-fighting machine.
As I said, there were three cars at the event. They presented the KITT remote first. It is a driverless Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR which can be remote-operated from up to a mile away. 
The second car presented was the KITT Hero. It is the same make and model but it will play the part of the everyday car. They made a big deal about it having 540 horsepower too. I don't know much about cars so the information was lost on me. This car was driven by Justin Bruening and had the rest of the cast stuffed inside. 
The last car presented was the KITT Attack. This is a super high-speed version of the Hero car. The stuntman drove this car out and did some circles that made lots of smoke. The circles of smoke were slightly more impressive than the big announcement about the horsepower. 
After all the cars were presented, the cast got out of the KITT Hero car and stood as far away from the photographers as they could. Then the photographers yelled at them and made them come closer. Here's the cast from left to right: Justin Bruening, Deanna Russo, Bruce Davison, and Sydney Tamiia Poitier. 
This is Justin Bruening who plays Mike Tracer, the estranged son of original Knight Rider Michael Knight. He used to be an Abercrombie and Fitch model. Can you tell? 
Here's Deanna Russo who plays Sarah Graiman, the childhood friend and ex-girlfriend of Mike Tracer. She is also the daughter Charles Graiman who created KITT. She seeks out Mike's help when she receives word that her father is missing. 
Here's Sydney Tamiia Poitier (yep, she's related to him). The youngest daughter of legendary screen actor Sydney Sidney Poitier, she plays Carrie Ruvai, the tough FBI agent who butts heads with Mike Tracer. 
And finally here's Bruce Davison who plays Charles Graiman, the creator of KITT. He's spent most of his life trying to keep the blueprints for KITT out of the wrong hands. When he is attacked, KITT is sent to protect his daughter Sarah. 
Sadly, there were no pictures allowed of the inside of the cars. Well, let me clarify that. I was allowed to photograph the remote car's inside (so that's what you see below) but the other cars were not open. When I asked I got a slightly confusing answer about how the cars will be commercially available after the movie has aired. So, I think that they used a separate little set-up to the shots with the inside of the car. I apologize that I don't have a more exciting picture for the interior of the car. 
The new Knight Rider airs on Sunday February 17th at 9 p.m. ET. If nothing more compelling is on, I will definitely tune in. My reasons are these. First, Will Arnett is amazing and I'm interested to see what he does with the voice of KITT. Second, Bruce Davison will undoubtedly be great as the car's creator. He has done some awesome work in the past (i.e. X-Men, Breach, and The Crucible). What are you predictions for Knight Rider? Will you watch it?
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Reader Comments (Page 5 of 6)
12-15-2007 @ 9:22PM
bob said...
is david going to be drunk on this show too lol
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12-18-2007 @ 4:09AM
craigwolverine said...
that was not funny
12-16-2007 @ 2:12AM
matt said...
what i have seen of the new kitt is awsome.
To all of you that think this is just a "mustang", ... you need to get the facts straight. This is a "cobra"!
Not a sorry ass gt. The cobra is a 6 bolt main with awsome internal engine production. I have a cobra and it is far better built than any gm product. Except the zo6, or the modified new camaro. Dont get me wrong,... I am a gm lover at heart, I have always been a fan of the trans am, and camaro,... and owned several over the years. I have had several friends own mustangs and always preferred GM. . But as it is,... the cobra is way beter built
and has plenty of room to modify for "better punch to throttle", than anything out there!, for price to wallet expense.!!!!!!
I would have LOVED!!!!!!, to see the new Trans Am take the place of the new Kitt, but I am not in charge.
So put down the mustang, but think twice about the cobra!
Matt
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12-16-2007 @ 4:32PM
Phils2Cool said...
By the way, I own a custom 07 GT Mustang and I absolutely love it and before I bought it, I really wasn't a Ford guy but I love the Mustang, especially my GT. The reason they probably didn't use a Trans Am (which by the way is a Firebird, 'to the guy that said they aren't' lol), is because there isn't a new model out right now. I'm sure Pontiac will bring one out eventually to match the new Camaro but all in all, if I had to choose between the new Camaro and the new Mustang, they made the right choice. You work with what there is actually available and the 82 model was for then, not now. Times have changed. But I am a bit concerned they're not using the original voice for KITT. I love Will Smiths acting, and I'll give him a fair chance because if Mr. Mom can be Batman, anything is possible lol.
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12-16-2007 @ 6:44PM
Jaymez said...
Kristen, Do the blogging world a favor and never review this show ever again. This write up made my head hurt. TVS must have someone on staff who gets the whole Knight Rider thing. Let them write about it. If not, outsource a writer from Autoblog.
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12-18-2007 @ 8:38PM
john rhodes said...
I swear does hollywood have to f up my whole childhood.If thay wait a few years the new trans am would be out.Thay used a mustang in team knight rider to and it bomed out. From transfomers to this crap. I hate hollywood
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12-17-2007 @ 4:48PM
sarah said...
at least the car is black and mike is hot and the cast looks pretty decent. the car itself, however, is ugly. the front end doesn't even look finished, it looks hideous!
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12-17-2007 @ 4:50PM
sarah said...
phils2cool.. in the original series they actually did use a trans am, not a firebird.
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12-18-2007 @ 12:21AM
Daniel Kirk said...
Oh, WAAAAAH! It's a wiseass talking sentient sports car and a dumb jock sitting behind the wheel acting tough. If that doesn't give you your ludicrous nostalgia fix for bad '80s television, just go bust out your 25 year old VCR and pop in a damn tape.
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12-19-2007 @ 1:59PM
450hp4cyl said...
The GT500 just doesn't fit the bill. I'd say a new Z06 is WAYYY better. The Mustang is NOT sleek at all. And it's a freaking brick. Shame shame whoever thought it would be a good idea.
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12-20-2007 @ 8:37PM
Mark Musumeci said...
YES and NO!!
Don't take this the wrong way Mustang fans, its a great car but its probably best to stick to the original make of car, I know the Trans AM has not been in production for decades but stick to a Pontiac!!!
I would think this show will have potential, as the the character Michael Knight looks good. But what about all the gadgets in the car?
Talking bout cars.. potentially the Nissan GTR would be a good sort.. the black looks really nice, I know its not a V8 but it does have twin turbo's... (ready for turbo boost Kitt?).
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12-21-2007 @ 2:37AM
Kitsune_Baka said...
Didn't TKR use mostly FORD vehicles? And look at what happened to THAT show, LULZ. I'm sorry but the Mustang looks like a short stubby little bulldog compared to the longer sleeker KITT from 1982. The dash has a KEYBOARD? WTF! And the scanner doesn't even look right on the nose! This is going to be one of the WORST tv show remakes ever made. Worse than the Dukes of Hazzard revival with the the cast of MTV's "Jackass." I'd bet NBC didn't even GIVE A SH*T about the concept until they found out Glen was doing a movie.
Even a 2001 4th gen T/A would've been better...
http://www.knightreplicas.com/database/default.asp?WCI=AlternativeShow&AlternativeReplicaID=7
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12-22-2007 @ 4:37AM
MarketAnalyzer said...
Why a retro cobra car? K.I.T.T. never had anything "retro" about it. It was imagination gone wild, slipping future technology into the sleekest looking shell available at the time.
But "retro"? Kinda like slipping the guts of a 2010 iPod into an 8-track shell.
This is just the oldfashioned box-on-wheels muscle car....it's okay for brainless muscle, not for a technological wonder.
I'm guessing they'll have the new Michael wear bellbottom jeans too.
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12-23-2007 @ 10:07PM
B said...
Is it just me, or does the new KITT look sort of like Herbie the Love Bug? I mean the little bars over the headlights sort of resemble eyebrows, which make this squared off piece of sh!t look even softer than it already is! I have to agree that the exotic sports car look has been scraped for more of a Radio Flyer wagon-on-steroids look. It's bad enough that the creative well in WhorellyWood has long since dried up forcing writers to resurrect concepts from the past with little success. But this is horrible. And what actor’s career is to be scarred because of the addition to KR 3000 to their resume’? Dude, keep auditioning…something better will CERTAINLY come along. Now NBC, if you insist raping the concepts of the past, maybe you should consider dropping the Radio Flyer Stank...I mean “Stang” and going with something else that worked a while back and just use the De Lorean DMC12 from Back To The Future. Very appropriate given your lack of new ideas I’d say….
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12-30-2007 @ 1:40PM
tucker1605 said...
i love mustangs and i LOVE knight rider. Messing with the old design is a bad idea. The mustang is toooooo boxy and not sleek. The original Kitt was sleek, and also had all the buttons etc. The interior in the new Kitt has NOTHING looks plain not sure if I will like it.
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1-04-2008 @ 4:09PM
leroy said...
BOOOOOO!!!! (throwing tomatoes) This is a disgrace! So it's come to this?! The shame, the horror! No t-top, no pizazz, no character! Where's the TransAm? No way, no how will I watch the new flick. And get that creepy looking mustang outta here!!
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1-01-2008 @ 5:47AM
Adam N said...
Guy, give a chance to watch the movie and make your own decision after finish full 2 hours of pilot. You may like it.
I wonder what if KARR survive or someone build a prototype of KARR mark II. I bet KARR will have extreme attack mode or something like that.
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1-02-2008 @ 5:09PM
greg said...
First, guys I know this might be a stretch but let's employ some intellegence here. If you boycott the show they will discontinue it quickly and the whole movement will die. Now I personally do not like the mustang for a new KITT but I understand the funding had to come from somewhere and perhaps no other car company was willing to shell out the bucks. Hmmm. And also using a GTO (WAY EXPENSIVE CAR) for a show like where the car will used and abused regular does not make finiancial sense. Last point if they can get some momentum back maybe they can redo the series as a respectable action/drama instead of a barely watchable retard level crapfest. Understand I loved the original KR and even had many of the toys, (Hell I even had the blueprints for KITT). Given the advances in technology they would be better off going with more detective work, less KITT saves my bacon again. Kinda like a KR meets CSI type show. Solving crimes using high tech equipment.
Oh and the car of choose for KITT now? Pontiac G6, Chrysler ME 412 Prototype or even the Banshee used in KR 2000. Thats all I got. Out.
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1-19-2008 @ 1:46AM
OpTaylor said...
I don't mind the actors so much... They'll always come and go... What i don't understand is... Why the heck would they use the Mustang??? Come on people!!!
The new Comaro comes out soon... It would of been a better fit... KITT+GM=GOOD KITT+FORD=BAD
SO not right... They so ruined KITT..
I will tune to watch it tho, I am a very big fan... Hope they didn't ruin everything...
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1-06-2008 @ 12:16AM
adam said...
you can't make an exact reproduction of the original, it has to be fresh and new. all you idiots that want to see a trans am, buy the original knight rider dvd sets. and by the way, the mustang is the most awesome car they could of used and anything else would fail. hail to the mustang. gm is junk.
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