knight rider online

hey im new to the board ....just a quick question whats KITT's top speed?

Welcome to the board!

It was never determined what his exact top speed was, but it seemingly was in excess (beyond) of 250 mph.

KI

In one 4th season episode the speedometer read 298 MPH. This was in SPM.

When I was at Unversal Studios back in 1989 and I got to sit in the KITT car they had on display, I asked what KITT's op speed was and he said it was 356.7 mph. I'll never forget that number because I always marveled at how close it is to 365,which is the number of days in a year. Don't ask how I remembered the .7, I just did. LOL And while 356.7 mph is exceedingly fast, if KITT had SPM engaged in addition to already travelling at his top "normal" pursuit speed, I guess it's entirely possible. Especially since a lot of Universal info. leaked out that KITT could "cruise at over 300 mph."

If you look at the opening credits on season 3 or 4 when you see kitt's speed readout it reaches 298 mph.
This is however not in S.P.M. so when S.P.M. came in in the 4th season who know's how much faster that would make him, I guess if you think of 298 mph and then add 40% as that is what S.P.M. added as Bonnie stated in "Knight of the Juggernaught" then that would probaly give you the answer.
Anyone work that out?

I would say with SPM, his top speed is 417.2 mph I took 298 and added 40% on a calculator, and that's what I got.

I would guess it is all in what you believe. Universal said one thing to get our imaginations in overdrive. The speedometer was always screaming up in the high digits, even when KITT was parking, so it really does come down to what you want to believe.

KI

well, the speed of sound is somehwere around the 550 to 600 mph barrier so KITT couldn't go that fast. Also, don't make the assumption that when they show the clip of KITT's speedometer going 298 in the opening credits, that that's KITT's speed BEFORE SPM just because that clip shows the speed before SPM mode. The clips are always jumbled around anyway so it's only logical to assume that they're not always in order.

298 mph was in season 3 opening credits before S.P.M. was introduced so that speed has got to be in normal pursuit mode.

In a recent episode shown on British T.V. I think it was the one with Goliath, after Michael fixed KITT in the desert, he was doing somewhere in the region of 310 MPH trying to get out of the desert. The only reson I remember this is because KITT actually mentions his speed.

Turbo wrote:In a recent episode shown on British T.V. I think it was the one with Goliath, after Michael fixed KITT in the desert, he was doing somewhere in the region of 310 MPH trying to get out of the desert. The only reson I remember this is because KITT actually mentions his speed.

...and that was only because Michael rigged him with ram jets.

Cheri

"well, the speed of sound is somehwere around the 550 to 600 mph barrier so KITT couldn't go that fast."


How do you know? If any car then could handle the stress of supersonic travel it would've been KITT. With rocket thrusters and downforce from his SPM extensions, it might've been a possibility.

DK

I think the answer to the question of Kitt's top speed is to quote "chariot of Gold" where they are watching the video of Kitt and the woman says" In terms of speed It's not how fast will this vehicle go ,but how fast do you wish it to go?"

And what about the "Sonic boom" of the SPM in some of the eps? Couldn't that be considered as breaking the sound barrier?

I really don't think KITT could/would've broken the sound barrier,even with SPM. That "sonic boom" you hear when KITT is in SPM mode is probably just the whooshing sound you hear as KITT goes by the camera. KITT wouldn't have to be travelling at or past the speed of sound to make a lod noise. And I'm all for KITT POSSIBLY being able to go fast but come on, over 400 or 500 or even 600 mph?? That's just not realistic, even for KITT. In the series, we never saw him actually go much past 310 so the quotation from KITT himself at Universal Studios of 356.7 mph seems about right. Besides, think about it people: even over 300 mph is damn fast!! Why in the world would KITT ever need to break 400mph unless he was outrunning a nuclear blast? And I'm not doubting that KITT couldn't hold up structurally to the speed of sound barrier, I'm questioning how fast his engine and additional thrusters could allow him to travel.

Once again, it is a serious case of what you want to believe. I don't believe that KITT could have broken the sound barrier either, but it seems that the sound department wanted to give that idea.

In the storyline, the cameras don't really exist, so the fact that he made the 'boom' while going past the camera doesn't carry weight as an explanation. The 'camera' is a point of reference. Anybody who hears a sonic boom is in a stationary point, and it becomes a point of reference when describing it. So that sonic boom was meant to give us somewhat of an idea of what could have been going on. So it could have been possible that KITT was in fact, breaking the sound barrier....or so we were lead to believe.

Everything about KITT's top speed was based off of what we would buy into when we were younger. No real number can be put on it, because it was all highly fictional. KITT's SPM mode introduced extra jets to allow him the increase in speed, so all in all, it could have been possible, if you are willing to buy into it.

KI

Ok, what about the SPM giving him an initial boost of breaking the sound barrier.. thus not actually being able to cruise at that speed.. but be able to instantly be going at that speed to break the barrier and then have the engine take over... Lol.. just a thought..

I look at it like this. If KITT did really break the sound barrier alot of people's ear drums would be bleeding and a hell of alot of glass would be breaking from those sonic booms. Even in a show like Knight Rider.

Not necessarily. Those are effects made from the sound waves dispursing in a downward way, rather than directly horizontal ones, and considering that I live in a fly-over zone, those effects aren't as apparent as most say they are. And if you will notice, SPM is done in areas where there is generally a wide berth, so there is some feasibility to sound barrier breakage, still. I don't think so, but they kept trying to give that image on the show.

KI

After much research, I am proud to say that I have found your answer!! Yes it was possible for KITT to break the sound barrier. You ask, "How could this be?"

1.) KITT had a brand new device, ability, emotion, knowledge, and/or special something or other, added to him in every episode. This always came in handy some where in plot.
2.) It was imperative for the writers of Knight Rider to keep KITT as realistic as humanly possible, yet they had to compete with such shows as Airwolfe and the Transformers. That would be a hefty task for anyone.
3.) Michael Knight was a really cool guy and popular with the ladies. As with any other man...the older he gets, the faster his car must be. No man can drive a car with top speeds of more than 300 mph and not want something better over time.

Before the question arises...KITT could also withstand a nuclear blast.

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