As we have mentioned in the past, the new sound stage for the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien was actually used for the original Knight Rider. Before the move, Conan mentioned this, and we knew it was only a matter of time before he did so again post move.
Last night Conan introduced "Gabriel" using the "Knight Technology" left in the studio, and as you can see - they're already butting heads.
[thanks to dhasselhoff.net for the alert!]
Nearly two weeks ago, the world lost Michael Jackson suddenly. We wondered if the two ever crossed paths, where both Knight Rider and Michael Jackson were hugely present in the pop culture of the '80s.
Some fans, including us, remembered an image with Michael Jackson on the hood of KITT but were unable to track it down. In it, we see Michael, and his brothers of Jackson 5 fame, on top of their respective cars, with Michael sitting on KITT!
Thanks to Paul of Knight Rider Archive (who always does amazing historical finds for Knight Rider), he was able to track down these two images, and is working to track down the rest of the story behind them. It's common for photographers to take dozens of rolls of film to get that one perfect shot, so hopefully the photographer still has the negatives from that session.
If you have any information to help track down either the Photographer or how Michael Jackson came into possession of this KITT, please let us know in the comments below!
As he is finally laid to rest today, we wish his family and him peace.
Air Force big wigs must have been impressed with Galpin Auto Sports flashy new mustang KITT. The airborne branch of our military called up Galpin and placed an order. The result, a Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger tricked out like KITT.
“For Galpin Auto Sports to be commissioned by the most technologically advanced organization on earth is truly an honor” Boeckmann said in a statement. “This is one of the most extraordinary and important projects that we have ever done.”
wired.com reports...
First up is the matte-pearlescent white Mustang dubbed X-1. The name is a nod to the Bell X-1, the first aircraft to exceed the speed of sound in level, controlled flight. This car won’t approach that kind of speed, but with a 500-horsepower V8 under the hood, it’s quick enough to keep you entertained. Lift those scissor doors and prepare to drop your jaw - either in awe or dismay, depending upon your point of view. The interior looks like it was lifted from an F-15. Design details include a single-driver ejection seat, flight stick and, of course, night and thermal vision and GPS.And then there’s the matte-black Challenger codenamed “Vapor.” Stealth could not be a more appropriate descriptor for this menacing car, which Galpin says uses radar-absorbing paint and a “stealth mode” exhaust that lets the car run silently. We swear we’re not making this up.
Cool exterior details include biometric latches on the scissor doors, proximity sensors and a roof-mounted camera with a range of 1/4 mile. The exterior was wrapped in a custom body kit and carbon fiber trim. Even the wheel covers are carbon. Like the Mustang, the Challenger got an fighter-inspired interior with aircraft-style controls, a passenger steering wheel and night and thermal vision and GPS gear. We love the shift lever, but we’re curious to know why Galpin didn’t say anything about what’s under the hood.
It also didn’t say how much it charged Uncle Sam to build these wild rides
If you all were in the chat last night, the folks at MasterKey mentioned that the epic battle between KARR and KITT was shortened because of the budget cuts that NBC bestowed upon the Knight Rider production.
They've put it up on YouTube for everyone to see. Here now is the full length of what it was originally conceived to be.
Last week the Consumer Electronics Show (or CES) took place in Vegas. Mio, the company responsible for the Knight Rider GPS had a booth set up complete with a complete KITT replica sporting a Mio/Navtones GPS unit on the dash. Very cool high visibility display for sure!
If you already have one of these GPS units (which we've reviewed previously) and are looking for alternates on mount options - check out Arkon. All their Moov 300 mounts are compatible with the Knight Rider GPS and are very well made.
It looks like the promotion for the reboot of Knight Rider has started to kick itself into high gear. Readers reported seeing a new Knight Rider teaser air several times during NFL Playoff football today and our own Michael Pajaro was able to catch it.
We aren't quite sure what we are seeing in the beginning, what do you think it is? Looking forward to more as its revealed.
[Thanks to djshag69 for the original alert!]
If you're pants can handle the load, check out masterkeyfilms.com and find their reel. You can see this scene and bits of other signs of things to come. The second half of Knight Rider is going to be an amazing show to watch.
In part two George talks with us about the history of talking cars and reveals some of the secret techniques he used to bring them to life.
He also tells us how he has been keeping classic KITT alive both in the backdoor pilot and at the upcoming Knight Rider Festival in Las Vegas.
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George Barris Interview Part 1
Stay tuned for part 3!
Last week we were very fortunate to spend some time with car customizer George Barris. In this video Barris tells us how he first came to be involved with Knight Rider. We also learn of the many challenges his team faced when building the different stunt and hero KITT cars. Together they had to design special modifications for the car so that KITT could pull off one amazing feat after another and still come out seemingly unscathed.
Come back tomorrow for part 2!
During our time on set - we saw four different KITTs. A green screen KITT called a buck that has interchangable parts (which we'll post about later), a KITT we didn't see, and these two KITTs here.
The one at the top is used in the KITTCave, and if you look closely - you can see it's missing an engine. We were told on set that the removed engine from the KITT that they use on the gymbal because when they would spin KITT, the fluids would come out.
The other KITT we saw them photographing to shoot the plates for the transformation process to Attack KITT.
Also - check out that old school signage on a production trailer!
A couple of new teasers aired during the football game on NBC last night. Above is a 15 second commercial showing a stationary shot of KITT transforming into Attack KITT. Similar but different to the exclusive preview we showed you a couple of weeks back of KITT transforming in the parking lot.
Also, after the jump is a video that shoots a close up scanner, similar in style to the You Can Call Me KITT commercial from almost a month ago. In it, we are told to "Prepare for Turbo Boost"
Live in Toronto and fancy seeing the new KITT? Well it looks like you will have your chance. Starting this weekend, he will be on a 7 day tour of the city - and you will be able to check him out and have a photo opportunity.
Saturday, September 6 and Sunday, September 7 (11am-4pm) Virgin Music Festival - Ferry Terminal Harbour Street and Bay StreetMonday, September 8 (11am-4pm)
Gardiner Museum - 111 Queen's ParkTuesday, September 9 (11am-4pm)
Corner of Front and SimcoeWednesday, September 10 (11am-4pm)
Corner of Bay and DundasThursday, September 11 (8-10am)
CHCH News Studio - 163 Jackson Street West (Hamilton)Friday, September 12 (11am-2pm)
Union Station - 65 Front Street West
Visitors will also get the chance to enter to win a 2008 Mustang as well as a Mio Knight Rider GPS unit, that we've mentioned in the past.
This also is the same KITT that Jalopnik and Autoblog recently reviewed.
Read the full release after the jump
As we mentioned a few weeks back, Jalopnik got to spend some 1-on-1 time with a GT500KR inspired KITT. Today they've put up their review and one of the most drool worthy Knight 3000 galleries we have yet to see.
But the cosmetics are still what makes this one-off car something special. Ford's turned this $80,000 Shelby into KITT thanks to a sweet-looking black-on-black paint job, the addition of 20" Shelby "Super Snake" wheels, 90% tinted windows all-around and of course, the Auto Indulgence 15" LED "Knight Rider" security scanner lightbar. Sure, it's all stuff you can buy off the rack -- but when combined together, it makes this "King of the Road" look bad-ass.
So when can we take this bad boy for a spin, please dad?
KITT: First Drive on Jalopnik
http://www.wcyb.com/ aired this 1:33 second clip recently about the NASCAR Bristol event that we mentioned last week
They interview Travis Kvapil about his feelings driving the car, and also show some up close details of them applying the Knight Rider branding and doing a few laps around the track.
George Barris was on hand in Long Island today to display many of his famous cars and to help raise money for the Autoseum. Mr. Barris, now in his 80s, is famous for customizing many famous cars including the original Batmobile from the 1960s. His Knight Rider connection was that his group build the Super Pursuit Mode & Convertible mode for the Fourth Season.
The KITT & KARR on display here are actually not screen used cars, but local replicas. Still their attention to detail is staggering, and they are quite beautiful. Many thanks to Mickey and Chris for their access in photographing the cars.
On Tuesday, we were completely humbled and pleased to bring to you an exclusive video of KITT turning into Attack KITT from the team behind the new Knight Rider
Today, we are very fortunate to have access to a before and after video. See how the complete shot was put together, from an empty parking space, to wireframe to final image! If they can do this much standing still, we can't wait to see more of it on the road!
NBC comes through again today with this official shot of Attack KITT. If you've been watching our site - you are quite familiar with this beast by now. But we aren't tired of this beauty just yet - and we think he looks great at night.
They really know how to keep us on our toes, don't they? NBC has another commercial for us tonight. This one updates a commercial we saw back before the pilot aired and updates it with new footage and technologies - such as Turbo Boost.
YouTube embed for those that need it - after the jump.
Over the weekend a commercial for the new Knight Rider aired during the Olympics on NBC, and we captured and posted it for you then.
We've been having daily discussions about the commercials in our forum, and last night we were provided with a little insight on this one.
A member of the team working on the new Knight Rider series, who has been kind enough to post recently, provide us with this alternate angle of the commercial that aired, as well as explain a little history about the commercial.
We were pretty shocked to see it air on national televison. I thought it was pretty cool of NBC to do that! That's a sign that we are doing something right in house.
We couldn't agree more. Read more on this clips production here, where he gets quite a bit more specifc about the process. It's truely interesting for anyone who enjoys learning about the behind scenes process.
Many many thanks to z00story for sharing with this and the 'higher ups' that gave them the go ahead. We are very truely appreciative of being able to share this with everyone.
