Another possible KITT

[Knighttime]

...however I'm not sure I'd cast the DeLorean as Kitt...maybe KI3T could transform into one though as a disguise?

[Jeremy1973]

It's bad enough that KITT is now a Mustang, I definitely would not watch a Knight Rider that features a Japanese import as the new KITT, at least the Mustang KITT is an American car. I think the new KITT should be a fabricated vehicle , kinda like the Batman movies, they fabricated the Batmobile and those cars are awsome looking. They should just make a new KITT concept car built with the sleekness and futuristic look of the Old KITT and maybe keep the Mustang KITT's double scanners. If they can totally create a new Batmobile for the Batman movies, then designing a modern KITT shouldn't be to hard instead of trying to find another car company to base KITT on , then there would be no arguing over wich car models would make the best KITT.

[Knighttime]

....If they can totally create a new Batmobile for the Batman movies, then designing a modern KITT shouldn't be to hard instead of trying to find another car company to base KITT on , then there would be no arguing over wich car models would make the best KITT.

...there are so many avenues the concept of the story could take that its difficult to say actually what sort of car would do...the concept of an AI in form of a car and its driver/companion could work for a raft of stories and settings, from the ordinary to the fantastical, there are actually fewer limits to the concept than most others of comparable format in the era - the imagination of the writers will eventually determine the car, probably not the other way round...The original is the original; what defines the Knight Rider? A black car with a red light? In part, but it won't make any just car a 'kitt'. its only another humble opinion, but I too think originality (with a bit of the spirit of what begun it all mixed in) is the way forward..

[Backtrap]

well its kind of a audi R8 steal in my opinion. Course that's just me.

[Nicholas Knight]

It comes down to the question of WHAT MAKES A KITT? Was it the flashy interior? The humanism of the AI? I took time to think about it. What makes a KITT Vehicle in my opinion was the uniqueness, but not TOO unique. Kitt was flashy, but it wasn't like people ran to him wherever he went like a Lamborguini or a Ferrari (Sorry K.R.O lol). Sure KITT was a FIREBIRD, but he was modified enough to be different. Even though it seems Natural for a newer model Firebird to be KITT, but I believe KITT's plain looking style should be unique. One thing I loved about the 80's Show was that there was no other similar Firebirds shown it the series besides KARR. I do remember a Camaro, though. I see only 2 cars fitting the KITT style without being to flashy or fancy. It gotta be a 90's model 3000 Mitsu GT(Dodge Stealth) with the pop up headlights or the 90's model Toyota Supra (Flip up Headlights). Both designs are eerily similar to the K2000's style. I remember seeing those TV Bandit movies that had the Black Stealth and the older model Supra. I don't see any other cars being sleek as the ORIGINAL KITT. Give em both a modified nose!!!!

[Nicholas Knight]

I gotta add that if the WRAITH car (Dodge Interceptor M4S) had the red scanner, it would have the perfect KITT look. But I dont think it has a backseat.......ha ha! Maybe they could just paint the Interceptor from the cancelled Spyhunter movie Jet Black.......

[hoffman95]

How about this Hahahahahaha http://www.ladaparts.ru/img/2105.jpg
I do like the idea of kitt being an old rustbucket and being transformed into a futuristic car.(But not a Lada Riva,Its just a box on wheels)

[Victor Kros]

I don't see any other cars being sleek as the ORIGINAL KITT. Give em both a modified nose!!!!

(I'm going to use "K.I.T.T." in reference to the "car" rather than Knight 2000, because I'm not yet sure what the "car" is going to be called, so I'm not using the term in reference to K.I.T.T. the "AI" in this example.)

- Don't be so sure about that one. I've seen several cars out there that could be as sleek as K.I.T.T. the problem is mostly are either foreign, two seaters, or just not lengthy enough to match the sleek beauty and reflective curves of the Trans Am.

It is a difficult task to find a car today that can still capture the head turning beauty of the original design but I don't believe you have to have t-tops or pop up headlights to make something work. It's more about the subtle things that fans can recognize as being carried over from the original design but put into a modernized car that today would still feel like at first glance you see a car that blends in with everything else out there - but on second glance you start noticing some very distinct differences that make K.I.T.T. stand apart. I believe a great deal of making a new model K.I.T.T. lies more in the interior functionality than just the exterior. Externally you make a few additions and make sure to give the car a sleek, mirror polished paint job and a red scanner but internally - you have to capture that "wow" factor and to do that today - in an age where we've pretty much seen it all, you really have to think outside the box of just what we've seen done before. That these days is my goal, to see K.I.T.T. as he would appear today and yet still have enough subtle details to see something new, yet familar so as to not alienate the fans that made K.I.T.T. an icon to begin with.

And I most certainly would NOT use a Mustang.

=VK=

[Victor Kros]

It's bad enough that KITT is now a Mustang, I definitely would not watch a Knight Rider that features a Japanese import as the new KITT, at least the Mustang KITT is an American car. I think the new KITT should be a fabricated vehicle , kinda like the Batman movies, they fabricated the Batmobile and those cars are awsome looking. They should just make a new KITT concept car built with the sleekness and futuristic look of the Old KITT and maybe keep the Mustang KITT's double scanners. If they can totally create a new Batmobile for the Batman movies, then designing a modern KITT shouldn't be to hard instead of trying to find another car company to base KITT on , then there would be no arguing over wich car models would make the best KITT.

- The problem with this theory is that you're forgetting that cars still get damaged. For example in Transformers they made Bumblebee based on the Camaro concept and it cost them about 50,000.00 to make one hero car. Because ONE CAR cost 50k, it did nothing more than drive around in the first film and was under constant care and polish. Now consider that Knight Rider requires a car that can sustain the illusion of damage from gunfire, rockets, lasers, etc - has to turbo boost, do burn outs, be rigged with explosives to "repel" gunfire, crash through walls, and so on. That means you have to cast, mold, modify, and build at least 4-6 different versions of K.I.T.T. for various practical purposes in the movie - if you make it all custom, now you're also dealing with having to work out the engineering mechanics of how this one off car is going to work, how to make sure it's road safe, and so on.

All of this requires a ton of money. The luxury of using a production model is that all this engineering is figured out for you. You also have production models already pre-built and all you need to do is fabricate new parts to add to and modify the existing body and alter some of them for stuntwork. That's what they did with the original series and that's what they did with the Shelby's in the new one. So really when you're dealing with movies revolving aound a hero car that does more than just "look good" driving, using a production model just makes more sense in the long run because you cut out the extra budget you'd have to use just to figure out how to make the concept car work. K.I.T.T. does more than just drive around so you need a car that can stand up to punishment and has been tested to stand up to it. Easier for technitions and designers to modify what is already built than to try and build something completely from scratch. This is more than just bolting on a custom sculpted body on a chassis to show off at a car show for looks.

Otherwise you'lre going to end up with a CG car or minature doing most of the action sequences and we know where that goes.

The tradeoff of course is you have to deal with the car companies and adhere to their wishes as well as license the modifications you've made to their original design. Sure you could go out and buy yourself like 4 or 5 stock models and modify those to get around the corporate suits but who in their right mind is going to pay upwards of 25k a piece for cars they're just going to wind up trashing? Not to mention even if you did that, then you also have to tack on the additional fabricated parts and other modfied elements like rims, spoilers, nose mods, suspension, roll cage, stunt modifications and so on.

And that's just the EXTERIOR. I'm not even talking about the art direction for storyboarding, design, concept art, fabrication of the dash elemements and all the other work that goes into making this car look as unique and exciting inside as it does on the outside.

Making a "one off" concept isn't as simple as people think when you're dealing with motion pictures. Not when your car is the star. It also comes down to what studio is producing the picture and what your production budget is and how to split that up between cast, crew, equipment, art direction, sets, clearances, visual effects, and then the car(s) themselves.

Unless you're a big studio like Warner Bros, Paramount, or Lucasfilms - it's going to be really difficult to raise enough funds to finance a blockbuster summer tentpole picture which would require upwards of 100 million just to meet demands of the "seen it all" audience today - especialy if you want to go with IMAX or 3D.

=VK=

[Lost Knight]

I had the distinct impression while watching Knight Rider as a kid that K.I.T.T. was always the most interesting looking car on the road, as he should be. Whether it was the car designs of the 1970s & '80s, or simply the way the production crew shot the show, to me every single other car on the road was bland and unnoticeable. The only times this would seem to change were when an episode's plot specifically called for a superior looking vehicle, or at least one that was on-par with K.I.T.T. (i.g. "Knights Of the Fast Lane"). Yet at the same time, from characters' points of view, they didn't seem to notice how special K.I.T.T. was until they took a closer look as the series progressed. (He eventually even got called "old" in "Knight Of the Juggernaut.")

So it should go without saying that whatever vehicle is chosen for K.I.T.T. in the motion picture should simultaneously be the most interesting looking car on the road, yet also blend in, as mentioned above. The difference is that, nowadays, in my opinion most ordinary production cars look a hell of a lot better and sophisticated than they did on the road in the '80s, so this may be more difficult. But the car's abilities and personality as a character can only enhance its looks, naturally. The '82 Trans Am doesn't stand out on the road today as it once did, but it stands out to people who have heard of K.I.T.T. and KR because it's not just a car, but a character.

[Radicalas]

I may say, that black (dark) cars stands out way more, than any other. So just use ordinary cars in silver, white... And then KITT will stand out.
Speaking of turbo boost and cgi, maybe they can jump any old car and film it from different angles with colorfull dots on the body, and then change car to KITT with CGI, using those dots, then turbo boost would look much more realistic (movements, landing). In my opinion, CGI movements looks fake, but when you use sensors (like in avatar - facial expressions), it adds much more realistic feel. So why can't be done the same with a KITT's turbo boost?

[Kal-el4]

because cars are harder to do in cgi, then people are, as their movements are way harder to track due them being able to move at speeds that we cannot.

[Rickyfresh]

There is a completly different and new version of kitt shown on this video, im not sure this one is a good choice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsqiXUsrArI