June 2009 Archives

David Hasselhoff had a busy week this week while visiting South Africa. You might have caught him saving the sharks in his public service announcement that was, ehem, replayed on The Tonight Show withConan O'Brien (click to watch).

But the Knight Rider star was soon to discover that even in South Africa he could not escape his loyal friend KITT as car owner Reynard Botha tells.

Last week was very busy for me as I was trying to get my car and myself ready to meet the Hoff. Yes the real Michael Knight. err David Hasselhoff.

JacarandFM contacted me and asked my if I can bring KITT to Monte Casino as a surprise to David while visiting SA to sing a Duet with Patricia Lewis an old friend and ex-girl friend to David. The schedule was jumped by a few months in order for the song to be completed before Patricia is to be operated for tumors on the thyroid, and operation that might render the blond super voice of South Africa quite forever. Well I certainly hope not, I wish Patricia all of the best for the operation.

Well back to the Hoff. What a nice guy, looking back on track with his life and a pleasant celeb to meet. He chatted with me about my car and told e about his own. He played out a little scene with my KITT in the car and signed my car and my owners manual that I wrote for the car. He posed for some pictures with me and also did a host of other interviews for the event, he then sang a song on stage and also did a round of signatures for the crowds.
source: Reynard Botha
Thanks to dhasselhoff.net for the tip.

We've heard a little update from MasterKey, the amazing team behind the effects of the new Knight Rider series. They were featured in an article from Variety focusing on VFX Emmy Contenders:

Another entry in this year's race is NBC's "Knight Rider" and its battle between hero car K.I.T.T. and evil K.A.R.R.

Master Key VFX, which created the sequence, also gets enormous creative control and relies on small teams.

"It allows them to know how everything is connected," says Elan Dessani, effects producer for "Knight Rider."

Master Key was able to choreograph the K.I.T.T. vs. K.A.R.R. battle to put the focus on the cars, keeping the fight in one location so artists would only have to create one background landscape.

"We didn't expect to have that much power, but because we had proposed this larger sequence, (the showrunner) let us go," Dessani says.

Be sure to visit MasterKey's website where they've just relaunched their site, complete with a new reel that focuses on some of their post Knight Rider works. Also check out our time with them over the last year.

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