50 Fun Facts About Knight Rider

Who played Michael Knight in the original Knight Rider?

NBC president Brandon Tartikoff recruited him straight off the soap The Young and the Restless.

On which US network did Knight Rider originally air from 1982 to 1986?

It premiered on September 26, 1982 and ended on April 4, 1986 after four seasons.

What does the name KITT stand for?

The 2008 reboot upgraded the acronym to Knight Industries Three Thousand.

Which car model was customised to become KITT?

Audiences already knew a black Trans Am as a star car from the Smokey and the Bandit films.

Who created Knight Rider?

It was the last series he devised at Universal Television before moving to 20th Century Fox.

Who provided the voice of KITT?

He was starring on St. Elsewhere at the same time and asked not to be credited for the role.

Before his new face and identity, what was the hero's full name?

The LAPD detective was shot in the face in Las Vegas and given a new face and name by Wilton Knight.

What does FLAG stand for in Knight Rider?

Wilton Knight set it up as a public justice organisation; Michael was its first field agent.

Who heads FLAG after Wilton Knight's death?

Edward Mulhare played him in every episode, handing Michael his mission briefings.

Which actor played FLAG's leader, who appeared in every episode?

He also returned for the 1991 TV movie Knight Rider 2000.

Who was KITT's chief technician in seasons 1, 3 and 4?

She was dropped after season one and brought back after fans, Hasselhoff and Mulhare lobbied for her.

Which technician looked after KITT during season 2 only?

Rebecca Holden played her; the character was written out when Patricia McPherson returned.

Which villain, also played by Hasselhoff, drove the truck Goliath?

Wilton Knight's estranged son drove a Peterbilt semi armed with rockets and coated in KITT's own shell.

What kind of truck was Goliath?

The rocket-armed cabover was the only thing on the show that could shrug off KITT.

Who played Wilton Knight, the founder of FLAG?

He dies in the pilot, but his voice narrates the intro and outro throughout the series.

Roughly how much did the principal KITT car cost to build?

That is about $334,000 in 2025 money; the stunt cars came from Pontiac for $1 apiece.

For how much did Pontiac reportedly supply the stunt cars to the studio?

Stuntman Jack Gill said many had already been damaged in a train derailment before they arrived.

KITT's pulsing red scanner was a nod to which sci-fi villains?

Larson created both shows and even reused the Cylon eye-scanner sound for KITT.

What is the name of KITT's near-indestructible armour?

Only heavy artillery, rockets, certain acids, lasers and electricity could get through it.

What feature lets KITT leap over obstacles in the road?

Rocket boosters behind the front tyres lift the car and can also push it past 200 mph.

What is the name of KITT's rogue prototype?

Programmed for self-preservation rather than protecting life, it called KITT 'the inferior production line model'.

Who voiced KARR in its first appearance, 'Trust Doesn't Rust'?

The future voice of Optimus Prime; Paul Frees took over for the 1984 rematch 'K.I.T.T. vs. K.A.R.R.'.

What colour was KARR's scanner bar when it returned in 'K.I.T.T. vs. K.A.R.R.'?

It also got a two-tone black-and-silver paint job to tell it apart from KITT.

KITT's theme was partly inspired by a ballet piece by which composer?

Larson took pieces of the 'Marche et Cortège de Bacchus' from Sylvia for the synthesizer theme.

Who co-composed the Knight Rider theme with the show's creator?

Don Peake scored 75 episodes after taking over mid-season one, but the theme was Phillips and Larson.

How many episodes did the original Knight Rider run for?

Across the four TV series in the franchise, 133 episodes have been made in total.

Which phrase closed the season-one outro in Wilton Knight's voice?

The line was phased out after episode 7, 'Not a Drop to Drink'.

Michael Knight talks to KITT through what device?

The modified 80s LCD radio watch also carried a micro camera KITT could use to gather information.

How many KITT cars were made for filming the original series?

Most were destroyed when filming ended; only five are thought to have survived.

What major upgrade did KITT gain in the season-four redesign?

The rebuild followed the Juggernaut neutralising his shell, and swapped the T-top for a convertible roof.

What is KITT's primary fuel?

His fuel processor lets him run on any combustible liquid, including ordinary petrol.

What fake plate can KITT's 'KNIGHT' licence plate rotate to show?

The trick was first used in episode 25, 'Brother's Keeper'.

Which vehicle serves as KITT's mobile garage?

The FLAG Mobile Command Center, usually a GMC General, drops a ramp so KITT can drive in while it's moving.

What was the name of the FLAG mobile unit driver added in season 4?

Peter Parros played Reginald Cornelius III, a former street vigilante.

How did stuntman Jack Gill make KITT appear to drive itself?

A two-way mirror hid him, and his arms and legs reached through the seat out of sight.

In which year did the TV movie Knight Rider 2000 air?

It was meant as a pilot for a new series, but despite high ratings the plan was dropped.

Which car became the Knight 4000 in Knight Rider 2000?

The studio couldn't use the real Banshee concept car, so Jay Ohrberg customised a 1991 Stealth.

In Knight Rider 2000, Michael installs KITT's logic module in which classic car?

Maddock had sold most of KITT's technology to medical research, so Michael rebuilt the AI himself.

Who played the villain Thomas J. Watts in Knight Rider 2000?

The future Walter Skinner of The X-Files played a former cop turned killer.

Team Knight Rider (1997–98) replaced the lone hero with a team of how many operatives?

Each member had a talking vehicle; the show lasted one season of 22 episodes.

Which Team Knight Rider member is hinted to be Michael Knight's daughter?

The former Marine and Gulf War veteran's parentage was implied but never confirmed.

In the 2008 reboot, what car was the new KITT?

Nanotechnology let the Knight Industries Three Thousand change colour and morph into other Ford models.

Who voiced KITT in the 2008 Knight Rider series?

Justin Bruening starred as Mike Traceur, the estranged son of Michael Knight.

Who played Mike Traceur in the 2008 Knight Rider?

Hasselhoff walked on at the end of the pilot film to introduce himself as Mike's father.

Knight Rider 2010 (1994) was set in a future styled after which film series?

Smuggler Jake McQueen installs a woman's uploaded consciousness into his Mustang.

Which 1985 spin-off grew out of the two-part episode 'Mouth of the Snake'?

NBC rejected the planned series All That Glitters, then recycled drifter David Dalton for it.

Before Knight Rider, Hasselhoff played Dr. Snapper Foster on which soap?

He played the role from 1975 to 1982 and briefly reprised it in 2010.

Which 1986 NES game had KITT travel between fifteen US cities?

Pack-In-Video developed the Acclaim-published racer, which ran from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

KITT's memory capacity was given as how much in the episode 'Dead of Knight'?

With one-nanosecond access time; a later episode declared his future capacity unlimited.

Which 2012 comedy used the Knight Rider theme as a phone ringtone?

The theme has also been sampled by Busta Rhymes, Timbaland & Magoo and Panjabi MC.