Shelby KITT Car Performance Stats

[Victor Kros]

I rarely post in this thread but I think this subject has come up far too often to ignore.

The new KITT's performance stats make no difference to me in my opinion but I see them quoted endlessly as proof of how superior the Ford Shelby is to other cars out there that could have been the new KITT. When you really look at it, first and foremost the illusion of speed on screen in a tv show or motion picture is dictated more by the camera and visual effects team then actual speeds reached.

You're not going to see KITT really go 250+ mph in some high speed action sequence no matter how good your stunt coordinator is. There's too many insurance companies to ruin the prospect of high intensity stuntwork of that caliber and too much that can go wrong.

The Shelby GT500KR might be the biggest baddest muscle car on the open road but you're not going to be able to legally take full advantage of its over the top 550+ horsepower engine. That's why speed limits are a drag, even on the freeway.

If you're in another country where speed limits are more lapse then sure, buy one and race your heart out.

Good luck actually getting the full performance you can attain out of a what equates to essentially a "trophy car" that will rarely ever be able to reach its top speeds in the city to begin with.

If you live out in the desert or whatever where there are wide open spaces, by all means endulge need for speed instinct. When it comes to believability in a real world setting however, it's just unrealistic to need this much performance in the first place. Who are you trying to convince?

This whole bravado about the Shelby Mustang being this speed demon and the endless plug of it's specs is just unecessary to the needs of the production in the first place. All it amounts to is yet another marketing ploy to sell "limited edition" cars to people at rediculous amounts of money they never need in the first place.

They end up in a garage purchased mainly by celebrities and high profile car collectors, locked away and preserved to keep them pristine as possible simply because of the sheer amount of money it takes to own it in the first place. That is until there's some auto show where the owner then drags it out of the shadows to display their bragging rights.

People complain about the previous Trans Am generations being inferior to the new Mustang but the one thing the Trans Am has always been to the general population is affordable.

This is just my opinion about the matter, feel free to disagree, agree or discuss accordingly.

=VK=

[Tony]

Well i guess I will make a comment on your retarded thread you just started.
First things first. I do agree on the fact that HIGH performance cars are not
very useful in the city. Second, they are bought by people who intend to have
a *?$# load of money. ie. clebs. car guros, Jay Leno, and people like that who
have the funds for such fun cars.

But the Ford Mustang Shelby GT 500KR is far more pocket friendly then your
average high end cars such as the Corvette which here in Canada costs around
$79,000 Basic - To $120,000 for the Z06. Which to me I think thats a waist of
good hard earned dough. Lets take the Dodge Viper. that too goes for around
the same as a Z06.. Which in the end they seem to have the same or similar
amount of power under the hood.

The Chevy Camaros and the Pontiac Firebird/Trans-am were more of a soar on
your pocket book than the Mustang ever was.

It's not what the car costs. It's what a person wants out of a car. Some cars are
more than others. Some just want a good kick in the pants car but without the
kick in the pants price. I too would love to have a GT 500 but I am quite happy
with my 06 Mustang GT.

But like I said there are a few things I do agree with you on. I wish there were
more places that I could open up my GT and have more fun with it and without
the yellow pieces of paper that sit pretty in my glove box. LOL

Don't be so hasty


Tony

[Victor Kros]

Well i guess I will make a comment on your retarded thread you just started.

I don't believe my post warrented you to call it "retarded". That's just plain disrespectful, you may wish to choose your words more carefully next time.

The Chevy Camaros and the Pontiac Firebird/Trans-am were more of a soar on
your pocket book than the Mustang ever was

- I was referring to modern day prices, not past issues and there is no question that a 82 Trans Am was vastly more affordable during the 1980s then a Shelby GT500KR is today in comparison. This is more true then ever when it applies to building a replica KITT. Most replica builders who desire to have the NBCU KITT will more then likely be willing to shell out less money for a unlimited Mustang GT and modify it to resemble a Shelby GT500KR. In my opinion this is because it is vastly cheaper to pay for modified parts, then to buy something that in itself is designed and marketed to be kept pristine and locked away in some garage as a show piece, rather then a practical road vehicle simply because it is considered a movie replica and no longer just a ordinary vechicle out on the road.

It's not what the car costs. It's what a person wants out of a car. Some cars are
more than others. Some just want a good kick in the pants car but without the
kick in the pants price. I too would love to have a GT 500 but I am quite happy
with my 06 Mustang GT.

- Different strokes for different folks eh? I'm actually quite pleased with Mustangs as well. I have never condemned NBCU for choosing to use a Mustang as KITT, I have questioned their artistic decisions applied to it from an external and internal design point of view.

While I can agree people will pay more money to get what they want out of a car, I believe in terms of the stats being quoted by just about everyone on the production, it serves more for the purpose of advertising the features of the FORD MUSTANG more so then the practical abilities of "KITT". I believe their overuse of camera work which screams "Ford Commercial" throughout the backdoor pilot supports that opinion.

I do not grasp how a bigger, faster engine makes a large impact on selling the idea that KITT is a fast car when it is well known in the past, KITT's engine was a turbine engine built upon aircraft design principles created by Wilton Knight. We didn't need to know the stats on the Trans Am to know KITT was a fast car. That was the beauty of cinematography and strong story telling (a majority of the time).

It comes across more as a salesman pitch to get people to accept the Shelby Mustang just because of it's features, rather then it's actual design to resemble the KITT we grew up watching as kids. I understand the whole, this is here and now approach but I would expect the car to speak for itself, not someone to try and sell what it is a good decision to me.

But like I said there are a few things I do agree with you on. I wish there were
more places that I could open up my GT and have more fun with it and without
the yellow pieces of paper that sit pretty in my glove box. LOL

- indeed.

=VK=

[Tony]

When I said retarded... I didn't mean it in a bad way. so i am sorry for that..


I was looking at a 2002 Firehawk T/A back in 02. and that car was $56,000 back then.

When a 2002 SVT Cobra was $41,000 with the same ponies under the hood. That was
more or less as to what I was comparing it to. The new Camaro is Around 60 g's now
And I think that is a retarded price for a revised car. And the Shelby GT500 is $56,000
Well I know GM cars were always more expensive than Fords. But each to their own eh.


Tony

[89IROCNDoug]

The new Camaro is Around 60 g's now
And I think that is a retarded price for a revised car. And the Shelby GT500 is $56,000
Well I know GM cars were always more expensive than Fords. But each to their own eh.


Tony

How are you coming up with 60 g's for the new Camaro when it isn't out yet?

I would say that the Mustang GT is a fun, powerful car that you can get for under $30,000 and I would think that the new Camaro will be in the same price range (or a little higher) as it has been in the past.

[snafu]

The new Camaro is Around 60 g's now
And I think that is a retarded price for a revised car. And the Shelby GT500 is $56,000
Well I know GM cars were always more expensive than Fords. But each to their own eh.


Tony

How are you coming up with 60 g's for the new Camaro when it isn't out yet?

Exactly- I did a little poking around and can't see a way to get a new Camaro to go UP to $60 grand, unless you got gold-plated rims or something?!?

Tony- Does everything have to be retarded? Does the price really have a mental deficiency?

[darthknight72]

Yeah I dont know where anybody heard about the new camaro costing 60k.If GM doesnt sell the Camaro within the price range of the Mustang then they arent going to sell much cars and they know that.So expect the new camaro to be within 1,000.00 dollars or so of the mustang.

[Karter]

They should use the '08 Shelby GT-500 Super Snake. Rated at 725hp. No warranty on it, tho. That's about 26 grand over the price of the regular GT-500.

[GarthKnight08]

One thing everone is failing to realize in this thread is KITT is a standard no option Mustang GT with a few performance parts & body kit with decals that say GT500KR. Its not this prestine show piece you keep referring to but just a custom run of the mill Mustang GT that would be alot easier to replicate than the original KITT.

[Victor Kros]

One thing everone is failing to realize in this thread is KITT is a standard no option Mustang GT with a few performance parts & body kit with decals that say GT500KR. Its not this prestine show piece you keep referring to but just a custom run of the mill Mustang GT that would be alot easier to replicate than the original KITT.

- This has already been pointed out several times, maybe you fail to realize where. The point here is that they're pushing the actual Shelby GT500KR as the actual Knight Rider car, when in fact as I've pointed out before it's not the actual car they keep quoting stats about in the first place as a reason as to why this new car is the new "KITT" and why it's superior to other options out there.

From a consumer/merchandise point of view it's telling people that the new KITT is intended to be the more expensive GT500KR and that people need to buy the limited edition one to have an actual authentic new "KITT".

Which borders on false advertising because first and foremost the average person watching this show isn't going to have the money to buy a limited edition anything from Shelby. More likely as I've pointed out, people will buy a standard Mustang GT and do exactly what they did in the backdoor pilot, make it look like the more expensive Mustang GT500KR.

It's all an elaborate illusion of speed and power displayed by the new KITT in the backdoor pilot or even the series for that matter.

=VK=

[GarthKnight08]

One thing everone is failing to realize in this thread is KITT is a standard no option Mustang GT with a few performance parts & body kit with decals that say GT500KR. Its not this prestine show piece you keep referring to but just a custom run of the mill Mustang GT that would be alot easier to replicate than the original KITT.

- This has already been pointed out several times, maybe you fail to realize where. The point here is that they're pushing the actual Shelby GT500KR as the actual Knight Rider car, when in fact as I've pointed out before it's not the actual car they keep quoting stats about in the first place as a reason as to why this new car is the new "KITT" and why it's superior to other options out there.

From a consumer/merchandise point of view it's telling people that the new KITT is intended to be the more expensive GT500KR and that people need to buy the limited edition one to have an actual authentic new "KITT".

Which borders on false advertising because first and foremost the average person watching this show isn't going to have the money to buy a limited edition anything from Shelby. More likely as I've pointed out, people will buy a standard Mustang GT and do exactly what they did in the backdoor pilot, make it look like the more expensive Mustang GT500KR.

It's all an elaborate illusion of speed and power displayed by the new KITT in the backdoor pilot or even the series for that matter.

=VK=

Show me where in THIS thread where it says KITT started as as stock Mustang GT? Sorry i dont read every single one of your posts & didnt think i was required to. And it has been pointed out several times that the show was a big Ford commercial. Ofcourse Ford is going to push their top of the line model, wouldnt you? This is the USA my friend we are the KINGS of false advertising.

Your no different than Ford acting like we are feeble minded idiots.

=GK08=

[Karter]

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Ne ... eId=123951

To portray the new KITT, Ford donated six production Mustangs to the film studio. Since the GT500KR isn't yet available, the cars were actually Mustang GTs equipped with automatic transmissions. (Automatics are preferred for film work.) The initial mechanical and bodywork on the prototype KITT was done by Galpin Auto Sports — from MTV's Pimp My Ride — and includes not only the necessary body pieces but reinforcements from the Ford Racing catalog including a lowered suspension and a Whipple supercharger. That blower, says Ford, swells output of the 4.6-liter SOHC V8 from 300 to about 500 horsepower.

[Victor Kros]

"One thing everone is failing to realize in this thread is KITT is a standard no option Mustang GT with a few performance parts & body kit with decals that say GT500KR. Its not this prestine show piece you keep referring to but just a custom run of the mill Mustang GT that would be alot easier to replicate than the original KITT."

- Statements like that one above, tend to send the wrong message, especially when you group people into a broad catagory. You are correct that in THIS THREAD it hasn't been mentioned but you didn't specify that it isn't mentioned in THIS THREAD originally did you? It has however been mentioned in other threads that the cars created for the backdoor pilot are in fact not actual Shelby GT500KR Mustangs because the actual cars were not availible at the time. Since they're intending on selling those particular cars in a limited edition, they made the standard Mustang GT's resemble them. They also converted all the transmissions to automatic because they felt the actors couldn't handle driving a stick.

If you're offended by my reply, I'll apologize for miscommunication this time. I would advise you to choose your words more carefully in the future to avoid confusion. I'd be inclined to believe this was a case of misinformation but then I notice your emulating my signature style as some sort of sign of sarcasm...cute.

Thank you for posting the link to the article, Karter.

=VK=