DUBLIN, Calif. - KITT, the flame-throwing, river-jumping, talking
muscle car from the `80s TV show "Knight Rider" is up for sale.
Restored to its debut-season glory, the modified black 1982 Pontiac
Trans Am is offered at $149,995 at a Dublin 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 David 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.
The car has two working video screens on the dashboard, and the
cockpit features buttons that light up in green, yellow and red: ski
mode, rocket boost, micro jam, silent mode, oil slick and eject.
Most of the buttons don't do anything, Verhoek said. Nor can the car
hold a conversation 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 of Livermore, 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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