‘KITT’ TRANS AM AUCTIONED FOR $275K IN US

The car, one of more than 900 lots in the ‘Hollywood: Legends & Explorers’ auction, was not used on screen but instead built to promote Knight Rider on the car show circuit.

On the air from 1982 to 1986 (but in syndication for decades afterward) Knight Rider was an action/ science fiction show about a crime-fighting character and his high-tech car.

David Hasselhoff (in his first major role) was the star of the show, but his “talking car” KITT deserved equal billing.

KITT, as any fan of the show will know, stood for Knight Industries Two Thousand. Assisting Hasselhoff’s character, Michael Knight, in his crime fighting efforts, the car was said to be indestructible, could operate autonomously and was crammed with fictional high-tech computer gear.

In 1983, Knight Rider was deep into its first season when Hollywood Productions was commissioned to produce a KITT clone for use at car shows across the US. Built to authentic KITT appearance inside and out from a 1982-model Trans Am, the replica was displayed at shows throughout Knight Rider’s production run.

After the show finished in 1986, the car was used to promote Hasselhoff’s singing career, initially on a tour of Austria by ‘David Hasselhoff and the Night Rockers’ in 1987.

Subsequently acquired and owned by the Siegfried Marcus Automobile Museum in Austria, the car was brought out again for Hasselhoff’s “comeback tour” of Europe in 2010/11 and has also appeared in numerous TV shows on the Continent. Hasselhoff personally signed the car during this period and it was in this condition that it was listed for the Julien’s Auctions’ Hollywood: Legends & Explorers sale on 17-18 July.

Julien’s had attached a US$100-000-$200,000 estimate to the authentic replica, which proved accurate, as the car sold for US$192,000 (AU$275,000 approx.)

At the same auction, a Sparco race suit worn by Paul Newman in the 2000 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona sold for US$10,240 (AU$14,650 approx.) against a US$8,000 high estimate.