Where Is The Original Knight Rider 'KITT' Car Today?
When a show like "Knight Rider" ends, one might assume that both KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand) and star David Hasselhoff are placed in storage with a tarp over them and left to gather dust. The Hoff, however, went on "Baywatch" and popular German commercials, so what happened to that somewhat condescending 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am? There were actually several of them, and they're still out there, just not solving crimes.
The cars have made about as many appearances around the world as Hasselhoff, spending their time at theme parks, numerous museums, and at Comic-Con conventions. According to Volo Car Museum, one spent a few years of its retirement at Universal Studios, and another owned by a private collector got airtime on Jay Leno's Garage. In 2020, one of the remaining original three KITTs was sold at auction at Julien's to a private collector for $192,000. There are no reports that the collector complained about the car not being able to fly, talk, or solve crimes.
How the 'KITT' cars have spent their retirement
Some executives at Pontiac were initially hesitant with the idea, but saw a boon in sales as the show increased in popularity. For the original show, the Trans Am was modified with a red cycling light out front and as many buttons on the inside as the Star Trek Enterprise. Once the show premiered on NBC in 1982, three Trans Ams were made for the first season, and over the years about 20 cars were used for those elaborate stunts, which certainly took its toll on the cars. Only five ultimately survived by the time the show came to an end, partially due to the damage, as well an agreement with GM that required several of them to be destroyed.
Of course, it's only fitting that Hasselhoff should have his own version, though he reportedly owns a replica that was not used in the original production. There were bids for the car in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, with the promise that if the winning bid was over 25% of the reserve price, Hasselhoff would personally deliver the vehicle, probably with his shirt off.