Thanks, Joe. I'm internet famous now! Glad to be part of the Knight Rider legacy in some way, no matter how small. Also, props for getting my last name right.
This is so great. Little by little, when I thought there would be no new content for the original Knight rider, and Joe and crew comes through. Thank you Adam as well… this was fantastic. On a side note, I’ve been wondering where the turbine sound came from, and it seems very similar to a helicopter turbine. My research is ongoing, but Joe if you already know the origin of KITT’s sound, I will take your silence as a “just wait, I have what you need and is yet to come” or I’ve missed something in your videos, which I think I’ve watched all of them. Keep up the great work!!! I’ll see myself out.
Thanks for that! I'm surprised they didn't plaster "Knight 2000” along the side of the car. I never understood why marketing felt the need to do that to all the toys. Even as a kid, I was annoyed with the marking.
Having finally dug into the back of the model closet to build a reissue AMT Knight Rider kit all that stupid need to add a Knight 2000 on the nose clip did was add extra time to the build slicing the raised letters off and multiple grades of sandpaper to make it smooth
I got the Kenner Turbo Boost Launcher when I was a kid and the first thing I did was paint it black over those KNIGHT 2000 red letters! Almost 40 years later, I still have the car, and the black marker is fading on one of the doors and KNIGHT 2000 is showing, now In pink, but somehow I'm glad those decals are still there :)
I'm wondering if some of the toy companies got the idea from this concept package? I had a Kitt AM radio with that red trim and Knight 2000 on the side also. Thought about cutting that off lol.
When I was in the Navy in the early 1990s there was someone on base in San Diego who had a Trans Am with the Knight Rider nose dash and steering wheel. The strange thing is that it was dark metallic blue and had decals on the doors which read Formula FX. The car also had an alarm with KITT’s voice. I always loved walking around it and looking at it.
Thanks for the video. I believe in the first season DVD of Knight Rider they had interviews of the actors and makers. If memory serves me right there was a letter sent from Pontiac directly to Universal Studios stating please do not refer to the car as a black trans am because they have people coming into Pontiac dealerships asking for a car that matched KITT.
@@siqaraminmassaquoi1999 I think they were nervous that it may have a bad effect on sales of the car. Later they reevaluated and started thinking maybe we should sell a car based on the show.
Haha, when corporations don’t know what to do with their success. I remember when the Lego Mindstorms came out. It was initially shipped with this archaic scripting language you had to follow to make it work. Some kid on the internet made a GUI version that would write the script for you and started offering it for people to use instead. Lego started the process of “Release the hounds” and got all the lawyers spun up to go after him. Thank goodness someobe was smart enough to finally say “Wait! Stop! We shouldn’t be stopping him, we should be hiring him! If nothing else buying his software to use for our own. “ Sometimes a company just doesn’t know what they have and what to do with it.
Those bowing ball wheel covers have become extremely rare. Not hugely popular when new, many original owners popped them off and either threw them away or stashed them in a dusty corner of the garage, hence not being passed on to subsequent owners. Also, I understand the attachment points weren't highly secure and aggressive handling maneuvers could send them flying off into the ditch (or your girlfriend's neighbor's front yard.)
What a great video Joe! Thankyou! I never knew this car existed and it even further confirms to me that if Knight Rider was ever re made again into a new car it would definitely have to be a " Black T top" and that leaves only a new Corvette Targa top or one of those Camaros made into Trans Ams from Trans Am Depot. I would love to see Trans Am Depot make a new Knight Rider car like they did with the Bandit car because after all it is supposed to be a " black t top" not a black hardtop mustang. 😉
There was actually a rumour here in blighty that they did release a knight rider style car but stopped when someone tried jumping a train in theirs! I believed that for years!
In their infinite wisdom they never let the Knight Rider 2000 production use their Banshee either. Ironically the 4th Generation Firebird's design happened to take inspiration from it anyway 2 years later. After they canceled the Firebird, neutered the GTO and made that bizarre Aztec, no wonder they eventually went under.
I remember buying a Firebird matchbox car with a big phoenix printed on the hood, because it was the only toy that actually looked like KITT. None of the other toy cars did.
It's surprising they never went with this, I can imagine them selling quite a few. GM did do something like this with the Camaro after the first Transformers movie, offering a Bumblebee package. Maybe they learned from the missed opportunity.
Pretty sure I read somewhere that Pontiac were worried people would start trying to crash through walls or do jumps with them thinking they'd be indestructible like KITT, so they decided not to.
@@mattwebb6056 I remember something along those lines too. To a sane person you'd think nah, who the hell would try that?! But after dealing with the public for over 20 years I'd believe it 😆
Hi guys. Great video. I have an 83 pontiac here in south africa with this trim. It came with 1 solid insert under left light and right missing. Replaced it with grill type. The car was sprayed to gun metal grey in 2015. My seats are also with the pillow type head rest but recovered in leather same time as repaint with the shape the same. My wheels are different. It's 20 gap wheels. Not turbine with caps.
Another fab video. Fantastic the variety of stuff you're able to bring us. That trim package looks really good imo. Let hope you can find that car now!
GM were stupid not to have capitalized on the Knight Rider exposure for the trans am. It's clear they took some styling queues from KITT when they facelifted the car in 1986 with the revised front bumper with fog lights and smooth tail lights., but I guess in 1983 the car was still too new on the market for them to do a face-lift for a Knight Rider edition otherwise it would have outsold all other models. The 1989 GTA is my favorite TA. I used to own a 1983 model with with the beige cloth interior and automatic transmission and it was such a reliable car.
Great story! I had heard that throughout the airing of the series Pontiac dealers had been approached by customers requesting the KITT dashboard option! Obviously that was never going to happen but for years I did think that Pontiac had missed a trick by not releasing some sort of Knight Rider oriented Trans Am to the public. Now that we've seen how close they were to actually offering one... I have to say I like it because thanks to Knight Rider I will always have a soft spot for all 3rd gen models but in all honesty with this particular demo model I think the nods to KITT were a little light on ambition. Not that I would have expected Pontiac to have gone the full Chris Blasius of course, but why not at least pack this edition with similar interior options to that which KITT had on the show, (like the colour choies and the PMD seats)? Why did they not install the double/triple fog lights into the front bumper or delete the rear defrost or add the tinted glass across the tail lights?
Looking at this KR edition, i am glad they didn't produced it. Rear windows with defrost, the 82 stock nose with horrible looking extensions like the 87 GTA and no PMD seats. They should have played with the thought of taking a 82 TA and just fitting it with Kitt's nose and tinted rear lights without the Pontiac logo.
It's cool to see they considered it, I always felt the 91 - 92 Models had a more proper "KITT" Front end (I understand why the scanner wouldn't be allowed due to road laws in the US) with the longer and smoother nose, I imagine with some good hands and bodywork skills one could cut a slot for a scanner on those model years for a more rounded look (Or be cheap like me by just painting the car black, throw some red tape and call it a day LOL... If I could afford one). Only downside to this package was the lack of the proper front end (Again Probably related to the scanner issue which I would have just made into a an extra fog light or just a normal color as the headlights) but considering it was the 80s and the cost I'm not surprised either. Regardless it's still a beautiful car after all these years and so cool they thought about it in the first place.
In most places, the scanner light is legal as long as the car itself is not moving. Even without the scanner light in operation while the car is moving, it's still a very distinctive vehicle, especially with the Knight 2000 digital dash fitted.
I remember hearing about this when I was a kit. I can even remember the picture with the decal of “Knight Rider” where the scanner should have been. I thought it looked really dumb! 😂. Why would you not want a working scanner bar?? And it had a stock trans am interior too. . It basically looked like a Recaro with red panel trim instead of gold, and a few “Knight Rider” decals, otherwise is was nothing special.
It's pretty interesting. A Pontiac with a Knight Rider trim would have been cool then. I don't know why they didn't do it. Maybe for them wasn't worthy enough of an investment. Thanks for the video, Joe. And thanks, - Adam Urbanski - for sharing also your story.
If I was so inclined I would replicate one. The aero parts are available and the tape stripes and vinyl letters would be easy. The toughest part would be fabrication of the turn signal covers.
I would design it, so it looks like the 1983 KITT voice car toy. Big digital font style red Knight 2000 decals on the lower door panels. Leave off the stripes and ground effects. Put in the correct PDM seats and the 1982 shift knob and a GTA digital dash. Throw on the front turn signal covers and you'll have the best-looking fan made Knight Rider appearance package.
The turn signal covers had a problem flapping and distorting while car was in motion. No surprise Universal finally integrated opaque covers into the front bumper and relocating the turn signals into the lower foglights.
It would have been great if Pontiac capitalized off of Knight Rider ( as they did with The Rockford Files plus Smokey & The Bandit ) by doing such. However, IMO the Pontiac execs were worried that the buyers of those cars would attempt the stunts of the KITT car on TV. So if they wanted a black Firebird like KITT, they had 3 choices: the base model, the S/E or the TransAm . Just don't emulate the stunts or perhaps Pontiac should have put a disclaimer notice on every Knight Rider package sold
Hi, I used to have a 1983 Daytona 500 25th Anniversary Trans Am with this trim package. It had Recaro seats and HO 305 V8 in it. It was a beautiful car and I wish I didn't gave it to my brother, who totaled it 😞😞😞
That's awesome! Just learned something new. I actually have a digital copy of that old issue of HPP. I'll have to read that article, now. I'm surprised that KR Edition T/A didn't have the PMD seats in it, which I believe were still available in '83. In regards to the June of '83 issue of HPP meeting the release in Spring '83, print mags were always dated several months out. Even coming from the print magazine world, I never understood WHY that was, it was just standard practice after a while. When I ran GMHTP, we would be doing the March issue in November-December.
The practice was, and is, that the date on the cover is the date for retailers to take the magazine *off* the newsstand and return it as unsold and destroyed for credit, apparently.
I would have to say the 1991 front bumper with the 1982 body effects with a stock interior that resembled a KITT dash but toned down a bit. With a center console that tilted a bit towards the driver with an upper console that is high tech and not too bulky with a tan interior and open head rest seats and improved bowling ball rims and caps❤ I think GM could have done that and had inside floor plates that said Knight Rider Edition
I always wondered if and if not why didn’t Pontiac go thru with it. I do recall seeing/reading dealers making “knight rider edition” cars but it wasn’t this and it wasn’t a GM thing. Just dealer added options.
Sometimes less is more. I think the red decals along the bottom are fine but the Knight Rider logo where the scanner would be sort of makes it look toyish. Maybe the chess piece logo where the Pontiac emblems would normally be instead. It’s a good looking car but I prefer the ordinary TransAms. What made KITT believable is that the car looked like an ordinary vehicle (with some alterations) that could blend in when needed. Because of that I would feel more like Michael Knight behind the wheel of an everyday black TA than in a sports package. Just my opinion. That said, this car is a part of Knight Rider history. I hope the Historians can track it down and maybe partner with the owners in displaying it at some shows.
Wonder why they didn't stuff PMD seats in it? Those photos of the prototype are fun! I understand why they put the lettering in place of the scanner, most states frown upon flashing red lights on cars unless they are police vehicles.
Imagine if they reconfigured the nose to have put the turn signals in the center. It would have looked like KARR, but then again, I liked KARR better anyway.... .😁
Thanks for sharing this guys! I actually think it would be a cool car to to reproduce! Maybe after my 84 Camaro is done ill go find me a T/A and do it up like this!! Great video and History!!!
I know that ford did the Starski and Hutch Torino's and sold quite a few in the day. GM should have built a Knight Rider version but it would need to look more like the show car for me to one if I was old enough in 1982. lol
Being from England we only tend to see Pontiac on the TV. It seems incredible.that Pontiac could go from making awesome cars like the firebird and transam to the crappy aztek seen in Breaking Bad. What went wrong with them?
I used to have quite a few american cars here in the UK that were left-overs from the US airbases in the cold war. I had a T/A and also a Camaro IROC-Z which is essentially the same car but Chevrolet badged and different front end. I also had a few Pontiac Fiero GT's. They are lovely looking cars, even now. The manuals even though they only had a 140bhp V6 were actually quite quick. And the engine sounded really good. Shame the Fiero was discontinued.
@@dj_paultuk7052 Funny that you should mention the Fiero. I was at an auto salvage yesterday, looking for some visors and a dipstick for my Cavalier. At the beginning of one row was a Fiero that was almost completely stripped.
That would be a really cool T/A to have, anybody know what it sold for? I also wonder how the final design would have had the turn signal blackouts attached if they would have kept them at all!
I wonder how much more Pontiac would have charged or a car dealership would have charged to sell a knight rider package trans am compared to a stock trans am.
man i really hope this car survives to this day and is in good shape. as far as trim packages go this is tasteful; pontiac really dropped the ball by not going for it.
I wonder if the fact that there was a kit sold in the mid to late 80's for around $15,000 to convert a black trans am into a KITT replica influenced killing that idea. I don't recall the contents of the kit, other than it relaced the dash and steering wheel (and possibly the front scanner).
Not very fond of the Knight Rider lettering on the front end, but the red-red-orange stripes (getting thinner towards the ends) look great. Thanks for sharing!
I think Pontiac should have done this even if it was just a simple sticker package as I think it would have sold in huge numbers But alas I think the reason why Pontiac opted not to do this was because of potential legal problems as they didn't want a whole bunch of people who had Firebirds trying to emulate the show which is also another reason why I heard poncho wanted the Knight Rider crute only refer to KITT/KARR as a t-top.
I suspect that Pontiac probably (and correctly) assumed that this package would have a very limited target audience. The show was undoubtedly very popular but you would need a focus group consisting entirely of children who would say they’d be interested in such a package. Anyone of driving age who happened to be a fan would pay homage to KR by simply buying a black FB/TA. I’m not suggesting that there wasn’t a few black TA’s out there with their noses covered in red electrical tape because there probably were but I think Pontiac realised that not many actual adults would bother back then.
Wow never knew this was a thing, that could have actually happened. I just hope that whoever ended up getting the vehicle didn’t alter it, it being a prototype. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was done today. Just look at all of the Bumblebee packaged yellow Camaros out in the wild with Autobot emblems since the films came out.
Pontiac tried everything they could including to NOT refer KITT as a Trans Am. Even during the Knight Rider 2000 movie, the Banshee prototype of which the 4000 was based on was actually a Dodge.
I always thought they should have done something like this. At the time I was just a kid but was disappointed when I saw a real firebird. The seats were different, the bodies proportions were completely off and the interior just looked ...well....I've never been a huge fan of the 3rd gen dash. My feeling was that they should have released a "knight" edition, use the same interior color with the PMD seats, ttops..maybe modify the nose a bit (like they did in the 90's)...even smooth over the rear tails (like they did in the 90's) and then redesign the dash with some cool looking vacuum florescent gauges. Thing is, how popular was Knight Rider when it first aired? I seem to remember reading somewhere that it did better in reruns after the show was canceled.
I wonder what happened to that prototype car that was on eBay in '06. You'd think it would have surfaced at some point. Maybe the new buyer, or a later buyer/owner thought the KR graphics were corny or cheesy, assuming that someone randomly put them on, and then took them off.
One question I have is after seeing this car, is the seats in the Knight Rider car. Are the seats in the car are a one off or one year only option? The Pontiac one shown in this video seems to have the Camaro type seats.
Really surprised Pontiac didn't produce a blacked out Knight Rider edition. Would've been a great opportunity to do so back then. The ground effects shown in the picture doesn't look quite right, because the TV car didn't have them.
I think it's safe to assume they got the idea from Ford,(they had released a S&H Torino) based on their success with Starsky and Hutch, but Universal and General Motors probably never came to an agreement
I knew so many people who put scanner bars in their cars (and Dukesnof Hazzwrd horns) as a novelty where I grew up. If they had offered this in a Trim package I’m certain it would have sold.
Man, that would've been an awesome package. Seems weird that they just did the exterior. I would think they would've kept the PMD seats and shifter stick instead of using the others that are in the photos.
THANKFULLY, someone with good taste and good common sense came to the conclusion that a 'Knight Rider Edition' car clad with a bunch of goofy and corny-ass stickers would have been a HORRIBLY cheesy idea to pitch to potential car buyers. 🤣 🤣 🤣
thats cool Hope someday do a Trans Am as KARR V2 with the sliver bottom & amber scanner light well I was only 9.5yo in 1982 lol but yes I'd of gotten one
Reportedly, these cars cost $100k to MAKE. Pontiac was reportedly annoyed by prospective customers asking for the "Knight Rider car" or "KITT," and subsequently requested that the show not refer to the car as a "Firebird" or a "Trans Am" but instead as a "black t-top." Silly Pontiac. This could have SAVED Pontiac if their division heads had been smarter. You would think that the world's biggest marketing company (General Motors - notorious for badge engineering nearly everything they made) would have been smarter. Not necessarily. This is the company that cancelled the Fiero and gave us the Aztek and Cobalt lookalike the G5. No wonder it (sadly) closed its doors during GM's bankruptcy deal in 2010. I see hints of the 1985 - 1990 Trans Am in the ground effects. I also suspect that the GTA's digital dash package was at least partially influenced by the show but I can't prove anything.
I think the "prototype" Knight Rider edition car (or cars) was just that - a black Daytona edition T/A dolled up for that photo shoot. I find it curious that they based it over the Daytona - the additional ground effects of that version were something KITT didn't have! Though I wonder if that would've inspired Universal to add them later... As per the interior not matching with KITT, again that's something I believe they didn't fix up for the external photo shoot but I believe would have been fixed on the production cars - I'm pretty sure tan velour PMD seats would've been standard on a Knight Rider edition T/A!
I remember you mentioning this once before in a previous video Joe. Kinda neat, especially the headlight blackouts. A taillight blackout would've been cool too. I noticed this car had rear defrost. I seem to recall a digital dash in Camaros, but don't know if Pontiac had one available too. That would've been something to add to it also. I always thought that night time Turbo Boost scene with the cops would've made a great TV commercial for Pontiac. Maybe they were afraid of people trying to do the same stunts like they saw on TV and getting hurt or killed and then wanting to sue, so they decided to withdraw from being connected with Knight Rider. 🤔
Pontiac offered a digital dash package briefly in the GTA, and while not nearly as comprehensive as KITT or KARR's, there were some cosmetic similarities, minus the missing TV displays.
I wonder why they didn't use the correct interior if they made a prototype? Strange! My 83 Bird has wheels from the later end of the second gen. Anyway this is neat to see!
Looks a bit like some toycars with stock nose and some red plastic between head lights. Maybe GM couldn't produce the Knight Rider nose and tinted tail light cover for traffic regulations or pedestrian safety reasons? I can imagine the sharp point at the center, in front of scanner would do pretty bad damage for pedestrians in an accident. Car company probably would have to test and prove the safety, etc. of this kind of parts in real life traffic, even for limited "Knight Rider edition" and it's probably very expensive.
Would have been funny had the characters said, "Yeah, it was a black car kinda like the Camaro. But it wasn't a Camaro...just way cooler. Pretty sure it's in the GM family." That was terrible. I apologize. Fun video. I should start referring to my Firebird as a red t-top. 😉
That special edition T/A is a good donor car..... But driving it as the special edition??? No....those red stickers are too embarrassing.😅 That`s like: " I wanna own KITT,but I only have money for Walmart stickers....."
Hey Joe another great video on such an iconic series n car. With the car being so iconic if pontiac did do these cars they would have been hot sellers. U did say there was a trim package, don't u think the interior seats would have been PMD seats?? I noticed the seats were a different style n interior were a different colour. Do u think it might be a replica??
That was a cool video for certain. Though, the graphics/style on that car seemed a tad on the cheesy side. I think it would have been better with an actual scanner and delete the Pontiac and Trans Am signia like they did with the Bullitt Mustang. Everyone k ew what that car was as they would with KITT.
If Pontiac did not sold firebird trans am with Kitt look. It is since some people who works for Pontiac were bored that customers come in a way to buy Kitt and not to buy a Pontiac Firebird Trans-am.
I have my doubts as to the authenticity of the car that cropped up on eBay. It seems very unlikely that GM would have let a prototype out into the wild, even if it was just a production car pulled from the line and outfitted with prototype graphics. Prototypes usually live a short, brutal life, being used for their originally intended purpose, then used as a press beater for a while before coming to an abrupt and violent end in sled or barrier testing before being crushed; the few that don't get destroyed are generally retained by the company, either for use as "company cars" for certain high-ranking executives, or for display in the company's museum. When one *does* get sold to the public, it's generally through a major auto auction (Mecum or Barrett-Jackson), and there's a very explicit notice that the car is sold on bill of sale only, does not have a title, does not have a complete VIN (so no title can be issued for it), and can't be registered for use on the public roads. My guess is that the eBay car was a replica created by a fan who had seen the prototype photos somewhere. Which isn't to say it's not cool as hell and gives a good look at what the production version probably would have looked like, but I doubt it's an original one. Even if GM had decided to sell, rather than crush, the prototype, I'm sure they'd have stripped it of the "Knight Rider" decal on the nose, purely for reasons of trademark law...
This was probably something a 3rd party aftermarket company was trying to pitch to Pontiac, something an ASC or Cars & Concepts would do as a package they could add on aftermarket.
Originally Pontiac was also going to put the 301 Turbo V8 in the 1982 Trans Am... GM ruins every good plan set forth. Could you imagine a 301 Turbo Knight Rider edition Trans Am? Oh man, that would have been cool.
Thanks, Joe. I'm internet famous now! Glad to be part of the Knight Rider legacy in some way, no matter how small. Also, props for getting my last name right.
Thank YOU Adam for sharing this fantastic story with us!
This is so great. Little by little, when I thought there would be no new content for the original Knight rider, and Joe and crew comes through. Thank you Adam as well… this was fantastic. On a side note, I’ve been wondering where the turbine sound came from, and it seems very similar to a helicopter turbine. My research is ongoing, but Joe if you already know the origin of KITT’s sound, I will take your silence as a “just wait, I have what you need and is yet to come” or I’ve missed something in your videos, which I think I’ve watched all of them.
Keep up the great work!!! I’ll see myself out.
Can I have your autograph? 😁😉
Thanks, Adam! Awesome find 😎👍
Thank you so much Adam we all appreciate you. This is Amazing!
Thanks for that! I'm surprised they didn't plaster "Knight 2000” along the side of the car. I never understood why marketing felt the need to do that to all the toys. Even as a kid, I was annoyed with the marking.
Having finally dug into the back of the model closet to build a reissue AMT Knight Rider kit all that stupid need to add a Knight 2000 on the nose clip did was add extra time to the build slicing the raised letters off and multiple grades of sandpaper to make it smooth
Agree
I got the Kenner Turbo Boost Launcher when I was a kid and the first thing I did was paint it black over those KNIGHT 2000 red letters! Almost 40 years later, I still have the car, and the black marker is fading on one of the doors and KNIGHT 2000 is showing, now In pink, but somehow I'm glad those decals are still there :)
Its just like those Batman masks with the bat logo in the forehead.
I'm wondering if some of the toy companies got the idea from this concept package? I had a Kitt AM radio with that red trim and Knight 2000 on the side also. Thought about cutting that off lol.
When I was in the Navy in the early 1990s there was someone on base in San Diego who had a Trans Am with the Knight Rider nose dash and steering wheel. The strange thing is that it was dark metallic blue and had decals on the doors which read Formula FX. The car also had an alarm with KITT’s voice. I always loved walking around it and looking at it.
Probably a Robert Louiselle conversion. He started making those back in the 80's.
@@MrSFSTUDIOS thank you for the info. I had always assumed that it was a special model put out by Pontiac.
Thanks for the video. I believe in the first season DVD of Knight Rider they had interviews of the actors and makers. If memory serves me right there was a letter sent from Pontiac directly to Universal Studios stating please do not refer to the car as a black trans am because they have people coming into Pontiac dealerships asking for a car that matched KITT.
Joe even states this in one of his commentaries
@@siqaraminmassaquoi1999 I think they were nervous that it may have a bad effect on sales of the car. Later they reevaluated and started thinking maybe we should sell a car based on the show.
Haha, when corporations don’t know what to do with their success.
I remember when the Lego Mindstorms came out. It was initially shipped with this archaic scripting language you had to follow to make it work. Some kid on the internet made a GUI version that would write the script for you and started offering it for people to use instead. Lego started the process of “Release the hounds” and got all the lawyers spun up to go after him. Thank goodness someobe was smart enough to finally say “Wait! Stop! We shouldn’t be stopping him, we should be hiring him! If nothing else buying his software to use for our own. “
Sometimes a company just doesn’t know what they have and what to do with it.
Yeah I have that DVD set and you are right, they did say that Pontiac asked them to stop saying Trans Am because of that.
Pontiac STUPID AS CAN BE for not making a car similar to KITT for the masses
Always been a fan of those 15" turbo fin wheels. For some reason, for me, the bowling ball hub cabs really completes the look.
I like the Turbo- T/A wheels better. Same look, but all aluminum one-piece design.
Those bowing ball wheel covers have become extremely rare. Not hugely popular when new, many original owners popped them off and either threw them away or stashed them in a dusty corner of the garage, hence not being passed on to subsequent owners. Also, I understand the attachment points weren't highly secure and aggressive handling maneuvers could send them flying off into the ditch (or your girlfriend's neighbor's front yard.)
@@jimbartalone2766 I think on a few episodes you can see them spin off of KITT on hard turns.
A very interesting KITT kit. Or is it a kit KITT…
The only thing better would be if the owner of this KITT Kit was named Kit.
@@KnightRiderHistoriansOfficial At this stage anything is possible and nothing would surprise me!
Kit's kids Kitt kit car
What a great video Joe! Thankyou! I never knew this car existed and it even further confirms to me that if Knight Rider was ever re made again into a new car it would definitely have to be a " Black T top" and that leaves only a new Corvette Targa top or one of those Camaros made into Trans Ams from Trans Am Depot. I would love to see Trans Am Depot make a new Knight Rider car like they did with the Bandit car because after all it is supposed to be a " black t top" not a black hardtop mustang. 😉
I am very surprised that they didn't go through with this plan. But IMO they should have made it look more like KITT.
I remember season 2 where one guy asked Micheal, " You wouldn't happen to drive around in black hard top?"
Great video KR historians. This special edition reminds me of the Matchbox KR model.
There was actually a rumour here in blighty that they did release a knight rider style car but stopped when someone tried jumping a train in theirs! I believed that for years!
In their infinite wisdom they never let the Knight Rider 2000 production use their Banshee either. Ironically the 4th Generation Firebird's design happened to take inspiration from it anyway 2 years later. After they canceled the Firebird, neutered the GTO and made that bizarre Aztec, no wonder they eventually went under.
Breaking Bad immortalized the Aztek. It's like a meth DeLorean.
Nah, the 1990s decade of bland sedans and weak looks ruined them.
I remember buying a Firebird matchbox car with a big phoenix printed on the hood, because it was the only toy that actually looked like KITT. None of the other toy cars did.
@@uliwitness I had a black trans am toy car from Majorette without markings. It looked like KITT to me
It's surprising they never went with this, I can imagine them selling quite a few. GM did do something like this with the Camaro after the first Transformers movie, offering a Bumblebee package. Maybe they learned from the missed opportunity.
Pretty sure I read somewhere that Pontiac were worried people would start trying to crash through walls or do jumps with them thinking they'd be indestructible like KITT, so they decided not to.
@@mattwebb6056 I remember something along those lines too. To a sane person you'd think nah, who the hell would try that?! But after dealing with the public for over 20 years I'd believe it 😆
I've seen the Transformers Edition Camaro, and it features Cybertronian script on the stripes, plus Autobot logos.
There was probably a disagreement on money between GM, NBC & Universal....
@@rafaelfiallo4123 Okay, that sounds plausible.
Hi guys. Great video. I have an 83 pontiac here in south africa with this trim. It came with 1 solid insert under left light and right missing. Replaced it with grill type. The car was sprayed to gun metal grey in 2015. My seats are also with the pillow type head rest but recovered in leather same time as repaint with the shape the same. My wheels are different. It's 20 gap wheels. Not turbine with caps.
I LOVE that you're using short clips now...we should discuss this one at 1:58
Another fab video. Fantastic the variety of stuff you're able to bring us.
That trim package looks really good imo. Let hope you can find that car now!
GM were stupid not to have capitalized on the Knight Rider exposure for the trans am. It's clear they took some styling queues from KITT when they facelifted the car in 1986 with the revised front bumper with fog lights and smooth tail lights., but I guess in 1983 the car was still too new on the market for them to do a face-lift for a Knight Rider edition otherwise it would have outsold all other models. The 1989 GTA is my favorite TA. I used to own a 1983 model with with the beige cloth interior and automatic transmission and it was such a reliable car.
Great story!
I had heard that throughout the airing of the series Pontiac dealers had been approached by customers requesting the KITT dashboard option! Obviously that was never going to happen but for years I did think that Pontiac had missed a trick by not releasing some sort of Knight Rider oriented Trans Am to the public. Now that we've seen how close they were to actually offering one... I have to say I like it because thanks to Knight Rider I will always have a soft spot for all 3rd gen models but in all honesty with this particular demo model I think the nods to KITT were a little light on ambition. Not that I would have expected Pontiac to have gone the full Chris Blasius of course, but why not at least pack this edition with similar interior options to that which KITT had on the show, (like the colour choies and the PMD seats)? Why did they not install the double/triple fog lights into the front bumper or delete the rear defrost or add the tinted glass across the tail lights?
Looking at this KR edition, i am glad they didn't produced it. Rear windows with defrost, the 82 stock nose with horrible looking extensions like the 87 GTA and no PMD seats. They should have played with the thought of taking a 82 TA and just fitting it with Kitt's nose and tinted rear lights without the Pontiac logo.
It's cool to see they considered it, I always felt the 91 - 92 Models had a more proper "KITT" Front end (I understand why the scanner wouldn't be allowed due to road laws in the US) with the longer and smoother nose, I imagine with some good hands and bodywork skills one could cut a slot for a scanner on those model years for a more rounded look (Or be cheap like me by just painting the car black, throw some red tape and call it a day LOL... If I could afford one). Only downside to this package was the lack of the proper front end (Again Probably related to the scanner issue which I would have just made into a an extra fog light or just a normal color as the headlights) but considering it was the 80s and the cost I'm not surprised either. Regardless it's still a beautiful car after all these years and so cool they thought about it in the first place.
In most places, the scanner light is legal as long as the car itself is not moving. Even without the scanner light in operation while the car is moving, it's still a very distinctive vehicle, especially with the Knight 2000 digital dash fitted.
@@houseofno Well that's good to know.
I remember hearing about this when I was a kit. I can even remember the picture with the decal of “Knight Rider” where the scanner should have been. I thought it looked really dumb! 😂. Why would you not want a working scanner bar?? And it had a stock trans am interior too. . It basically looked like a Recaro with red panel trim instead of gold, and a few “Knight Rider” decals, otherwise is was nothing special.
It's pretty interesting. A Pontiac with a Knight Rider trim would have been cool then. I don't know why they didn't do it. Maybe for them wasn't worthy enough of an investment. Thanks for the video, Joe. And thanks, - Adam Urbanski - for sharing also your story.
Pontiac needs to retro this car make one out of that.
If I was so inclined I would replicate one. The aero parts are available and the tape stripes and vinyl letters would be easy. The toughest part would be fabrication of the turn signal covers.
Turn signal covers are easy as in the era GTS made them and could get them at various auto parts stores.
Classic industries sells them too. Clear or smoked.
I would design it, so it looks like the 1983 KITT voice car toy. Big digital font style red Knight 2000 decals on the lower door panels. Leave off the stripes and ground effects. Put in the correct PDM seats and the 1982 shift knob and a GTA digital dash. Throw on the front turn signal covers and you'll have the best-looking fan made Knight Rider appearance package.
The turn signal covers had a problem flapping and distorting while car was in motion. No surprise Universal finally integrated opaque covers into the front bumper and relocating the turn signals into the lower foglights.
It would have been great if Pontiac capitalized off of Knight Rider ( as they did with The Rockford Files plus Smokey & The Bandit ) by doing such. However, IMO the Pontiac execs were worried that the buyers of those cars would attempt the stunts of the KITT car on TV.
So if they wanted a black Firebird like KITT, they had 3 choices: the base model, the S/E or the TransAm . Just don't emulate the stunts or perhaps Pontiac should have put a disclaimer notice on every Knight Rider package sold
Hi, I used to have a 1983 Daytona 500 25th Anniversary Trans Am with this trim package. It had Recaro seats and HO 305 V8 in it. It was a beautiful car and I wish I didn't gave it to my brother, who totaled it 😞😞😞
Ever see the Trans Am GTA's dashboard? It looks very similar to KITT's dash
Oddly the digital dash option didn't appear until 1986 or so when Knight Rider was pretty much almost off the air...
That's awesome! Just learned something new. I actually have a digital copy of that old issue of HPP. I'll have to read that article, now. I'm surprised that KR Edition T/A didn't have the PMD seats in it, which I believe were still available in '83. In regards to the June of '83 issue of HPP meeting the release in Spring '83, print mags were always dated several months out. Even coming from the print magazine world, I never understood WHY that was, it was just standard practice after a while. When I ran GMHTP, we would be doing the March issue in November-December.
The practice was, and is, that the date on the cover is the date for retailers to take the magazine *off* the newsstand and return it as unsold and destroyed for credit, apparently.
@@rdfox76 ahh, that's right!
That’s so cool. It’s a bummer it didn’t get to production
I would have to say the 1991 front bumper with the 1982 body effects with a stock interior that resembled a KITT dash but toned down a bit. With a center console that tilted a bit towards the driver with an upper console that is high tech and not too bulky with a tan interior and open head rest seats and improved bowling ball rims and caps❤ I think GM could have done that and had inside floor plates that said Knight Rider Edition
I always wondered if and if not why didn’t Pontiac go thru with it. I do recall seeing/reading dealers making “knight rider edition” cars but it wasn’t this and it wasn’t a GM thing. Just dealer added options.
I would have definitely bought one!! I think they should have brought back the PMD’s for this package too
Sometimes less is more. I think the red decals along the bottom are fine but the Knight Rider logo where the scanner would be sort of makes it look toyish. Maybe the chess piece logo where the Pontiac emblems would normally be instead. It’s a good looking car but I prefer the ordinary TransAms. What made KITT believable is that the car looked like an ordinary vehicle (with some alterations) that could blend in when needed. Because of that I would feel more like Michael Knight behind the wheel of an everyday black TA than in a sports package. Just my opinion. That said, this car is a part of Knight Rider history. I hope the Historians can track it down and maybe partner with the owners in displaying it at some shows.
Wonder why they didn't stuff PMD seats in it? Those photos of the prototype are fun! I understand why they put the lettering in place of the scanner, most states frown upon flashing red lights on cars unless they are police vehicles.
Imagine if they reconfigured the nose to have put the turn signals in the center. It would have looked like KARR, but then again, I liked KARR better anyway.... .😁
@@LongIslandMopars That would have been cool if they made them sequential.
Thanks for sharing this guys! I actually think it would be a cool car to to reproduce! Maybe after my 84 Camaro is done ill go find me a T/A and do it up like this!! Great video and History!!!
I know that ford did the Starski and Hutch Torino's and sold quite a few in the day. GM should have built a Knight Rider version but it would need to look more like the show car for me to one if I was old enough in 1982. lol
Being from England we only tend to see Pontiac on the TV. It seems incredible.that Pontiac could go from making awesome cars like the firebird and transam to the crappy aztek seen in Breaking Bad. What went wrong with them?
I used to have quite a few american cars here in the UK that were left-overs from the US airbases in the cold war. I had a T/A and also a Camaro IROC-Z which is essentially the same car but Chevrolet badged and different front end. I also had a few Pontiac Fiero GT's. They are lovely looking cars, even now. The manuals even though they only had a 140bhp V6 were actually quite quick. And the engine sounded really good. Shame the Fiero was discontinued.
pop culture, economy etc., and now they don't exist because of the '08 crash
@@dj_paultuk7052 Funny that you should mention the Fiero. I was at an auto salvage yesterday, looking for some visors and a dipstick for my Cavalier.
At the beginning of one row was a Fiero that was almost completely stripped.
That would be a really cool T/A to have, anybody know what it sold for? I also wonder how the final design would have had the turn signal blackouts attached if they would have kept them at all!
Refresh my memory, wasn't the word "Trans-Am" last dropped on the episode "Trust Doesn't Rust?"
I wonder how much more Pontiac would have charged or a car dealership would have charged to sell a knight rider package trans am compared to a stock trans am.
man i really hope this car survives to this day and is in good shape. as far as trim packages go this is tasteful; pontiac really dropped the ball by not going for it.
OMG. I totally had that HPP issue because of the Knight Rider article.
I wonder if the fact that there was a kit sold in the mid to late 80's for around $15,000 to convert a black trans am into a KITT replica influenced killing that idea. I don't recall the contents of the kit, other than it relaced the dash and steering wheel (and possibly the front scanner).
Getting closer to 100k subscribers! Woohoo! Love the video, thanks Joe as ever. Ps do you do KRH full time now?
Thank you! No it's just a side hobby.
Not very fond of the Knight Rider lettering on the front end, but the red-red-orange stripes (getting thinner towards the ends) look great. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you joe for your very interesting information watching from South Africa
In the Vista Beach episode, Ron's racing buddy referred to KITT as a black hard top
Very cool. Love these sorts of finds.
@Knight Rider Historians: What is the name of the song in this video when you’re showing the photos of the prototype?
I remember seeing an as ad in a used car sales listing for a Knight Rider edition trans am, I wish I had the money to buy it when it was available.
Wow, very interesting video. Thanks!
The people that would want it couldn't afford it. The people that could afford it wouldn't want it.
Even with the main series done I can’t believe you still find ways to do commentary
What’s the song in the end of the video when ur showing off the car?
I would've bought one, if I were in the 80s. That red trim on the black just pops.
okay now this was cool Joe
Thanks joe
Incredible!!! Just when I thought o knew it all!!! I would have totally gotten that! Still want too really!!!
I think Pontiac should have done this even if it was just a simple sticker package as I think it would have sold in huge numbers
But alas I think the reason why Pontiac opted not to do this was because of potential legal problems as they didn't want a whole bunch of people who had Firebirds trying to emulate the show which is also another reason why I heard poncho wanted the Knight Rider crute only refer to KITT/KARR as a t-top.
I suspect that Pontiac probably (and correctly) assumed that this package would have a very limited target audience. The show was undoubtedly very popular but you would need a focus group consisting entirely of children who would say they’d be interested in such a package. Anyone of driving age who happened to be a fan would pay homage to KR by simply buying a black FB/TA. I’m not suggesting that there wasn’t a few black TA’s out there with their noses covered in red electrical tape because there probably were but I think Pontiac realised that not many actual adults would bother back then.
Wow never knew this was a thing, that could have actually happened. I just hope that whoever ended up getting the vehicle didn’t alter it, it being a prototype.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it was done today. Just look at all of the Bumblebee packaged yellow Camaros out in the wild with Autobot emblems since the films came out.
Ich verstehe zwar nicht alles ,aber ich liebe seine Kanal.Danke dür diese tolle Information
I def would have bought that trim package!
In the prototype pic notice the Phoenix trying to appear on the hood? Really looks like the bird of fire!
Pontiac tried everything they could including to NOT refer KITT as a Trans Am. Even during the Knight Rider 2000 movie, the Banshee prototype of which the 4000 was based on was actually a Dodge.
The Knight Rider 2000 car was a Dodge Stealth if I recall. I think the hero car been on and off EBay a few times over the years.
@@waylandcool I remember when Bob advertised him on sale on UA-cam. The boat car is in Orlando.
I always thought they should have done something like this. At the time I was just a kid but was disappointed when I saw a real firebird. The seats were different, the bodies proportions were completely off and the interior just looked ...well....I've never been a huge fan of the 3rd gen dash. My feeling was that they should have released a "knight" edition, use the same interior color with the PMD seats, ttops..maybe modify the nose a bit (like they did in the 90's)...even smooth over the rear tails (like they did in the 90's) and then redesign the dash with some cool looking vacuum florescent gauges. Thing is, how popular was Knight Rider when it first aired? I seem to remember reading somewhere that it did better in reruns after the show was canceled.
I wonder what happened to that prototype car that was on eBay in '06. You'd think it would have surfaced at some point. Maybe the new buyer, or a later buyer/owner thought the KR graphics were corny or cheesy, assuming that someone randomly put them on, and then took them off.
I would have bought that trim 😄
One question I have is after seeing this car, is the seats in the Knight Rider car. Are the seats in the car are a one off or one year only option? The Pontiac one shown in this video seems to have the Camaro type seats.
Really surprised Pontiac didn't produce a blacked out Knight Rider edition. Would've been a great opportunity to do so back then. The ground effects shown in the picture doesn't look quite right, because the TV car didn't have them.
Great job 👏
I'm still wanting to turn my 86 into a KITT
I turned my '85 Z-28 into KITT. The Knight Interceptor 3000.
@@MrSFSTUDIOS I bet that looks cool 😎!
@@jonathanmartin-ives8665 I like it. I fiberglassed my own dash and filled it with custom Jupiter Electronics Season 1 gauges.
I think it's safe to assume they got the idea from Ford,(they had released a S&H Torino) based on their success with Starsky and Hutch, but Universal and General Motors probably never came to an agreement
I knew so many people who put scanner bars in their cars (and Dukesnof Hazzwrd horns) as a novelty where I grew up. If they had offered this in a Trim package I’m certain it would have sold.
😮woah even with the sticker it’s so cool
What's the song played during the photos of the car?? It's so familiar
Man, that would've been an awesome package.
Seems weird that they just did the exterior. I would think they would've kept the PMD seats and shifter stick instead of using the others that are in the photos.
I thought that Pontiac told the show that kitt was not called a Pontiac trans am
THANKFULLY, someone with good taste and good common sense came to the conclusion that a 'Knight Rider Edition' car clad with a bunch of goofy and corny-ass stickers would have been a HORRIBLY cheesy idea to pitch to potential car buyers. 🤣 🤣 🤣
thats cool
Hope someday do a Trans Am as KARR V2 with the sliver bottom & amber scanner light
well I was only 9.5yo in 1982 lol but yes I'd of gotten one
Reportedly, these cars cost $100k to MAKE. Pontiac was reportedly annoyed by prospective customers asking for the "Knight Rider car" or "KITT," and subsequently requested that the show not refer to the car as a "Firebird" or a "Trans Am" but instead as a "black t-top." Silly Pontiac. This could have SAVED Pontiac if their division heads had been smarter. You would think that the world's biggest marketing company (General Motors - notorious for badge engineering nearly everything they made) would have been smarter. Not necessarily. This is the company that cancelled the Fiero and gave us the Aztek and Cobalt lookalike the G5. No wonder it (sadly) closed its doors during GM's bankruptcy deal in 2010. I see hints of the 1985 - 1990 Trans Am in the ground effects. I also suspect that the GTA's digital dash package was at least partially influenced by the show but I can't prove anything.
I think the "prototype" Knight Rider edition car (or cars) was just that - a black Daytona edition T/A dolled up for that photo shoot. I find it curious that they based it over the Daytona - the additional ground effects of that version were something KITT didn't have! Though I wonder if that would've inspired Universal to add them later...
As per the interior not matching with KITT, again that's something I believe they didn't fix up for the external photo shoot but I believe would have been fixed on the production cars - I'm pretty sure tan velour PMD seats would've been standard on a Knight Rider edition T/A!
I remember you mentioning this once before in a previous video Joe. Kinda neat, especially the headlight blackouts. A taillight blackout would've been cool too. I noticed this car had rear defrost. I seem to recall a digital dash in Camaros, but don't know if Pontiac had one available too. That would've been something to add to it also. I always thought that night time Turbo Boost scene with the cops would've made a great TV commercial for Pontiac. Maybe they were afraid of people trying to do the same stunts like they saw on TV and getting hurt or killed and then wanting to sue, so they decided to withdraw from being connected with Knight Rider. 🤔
Pontiac offered a digital dash package briefly in the GTA, and while not nearly as comprehensive as KITT or KARR's, there were some cosmetic similarities, minus the missing TV displays.
@@houseofno I thought so. Couldn't remember. It's been a while 🤔 Ugh I'm getting old 🙄
The triple red stripes are reminiscent of the 1980 Z-28's triple stripes. Wonder if that is where they got them from?
Sounds like you found the slogan for your next t-shirt. Have you seen a black T-top? Lol
Love it!
I want one I want one, probably some guy bought it for a first car high school kid that didn't know what KR was and drove that car into the ground!
I wonder why they didn't use the correct interior if they made a prototype? Strange! My 83 Bird has wheels from the later end of the second gen. Anyway this is neat to see!
Looks a bit like some toycars with stock nose and some red plastic between head lights.
Maybe GM couldn't produce the Knight Rider nose and tinted tail light cover for traffic regulations or pedestrian safety reasons? I can imagine the sharp point at the center, in front of scanner would do pretty bad damage for pedestrians in an accident.
Car company probably would have to test and prove the safety, etc. of this kind of parts in real life traffic, even for limited "Knight Rider edition" and it's probably very expensive.
Uncle Tony from uncle Tony’s garage was the editor of high performance Pontiac then
Would have been funny had the characters said, "Yeah, it was a black car kinda like the Camaro. But it wasn't a Camaro...just way cooler. Pretty sure it's in the GM family."
That was terrible. I apologize. Fun video. I should start referring to my Firebird as a red t-top. 😉
That special edition T/A is a good donor car.....
But driving it as the special edition??? No....those red stickers are too embarrassing.😅
That`s like: " I wanna own KITT,but I only have money for Walmart stickers....."
Dang! Now they could make a special limited edition Knight Rider car with either Apple or Amazon providing a KiTT Ai.
Hey Joe another great video on such an iconic series n car. With the car being so iconic if pontiac did do these cars they would have been hot sellers. U did say there was a trim package, don't u think the interior seats would have been PMD seats?? I noticed the seats were a different style n interior were a different colour. Do u think it might be a replica??
That was a cool video for certain. Though, the graphics/style on that car seemed a tad on the cheesy side. I think it would have been better with an actual scanner and delete the Pontiac and Trans Am signia like they did with the Bullitt Mustang. Everyone k ew what that car was as they would with KITT.
Reminds me of a diecast model where they got everything wrong but the name lol
If Pontiac did not sold firebird trans am with Kitt look. It is since some people who works for Pontiac were bored that customers come in a way to buy Kitt and not to buy a Pontiac Firebird Trans-am.
Very interesting 🤔
I LOVE THE PACKAGE
I have my doubts as to the authenticity of the car that cropped up on eBay. It seems very unlikely that GM would have let a prototype out into the wild, even if it was just a production car pulled from the line and outfitted with prototype graphics. Prototypes usually live a short, brutal life, being used for their originally intended purpose, then used as a press beater for a while before coming to an abrupt and violent end in sled or barrier testing before being crushed; the few that don't get destroyed are generally retained by the company, either for use as "company cars" for certain high-ranking executives, or for display in the company's museum. When one *does* get sold to the public, it's generally through a major auto auction (Mecum or Barrett-Jackson), and there's a very explicit notice that the car is sold on bill of sale only, does not have a title, does not have a complete VIN (so no title can be issued for it), and can't be registered for use on the public roads.
My guess is that the eBay car was a replica created by a fan who had seen the prototype photos somewhere. Which isn't to say it's not cool as hell and gives a good look at what the production version probably would have looked like, but I doubt it's an original one. Even if GM had decided to sell, rather than crush, the prototype, I'm sure they'd have stripped it of the "Knight Rider" decal on the nose, purely for reasons of trademark law...
This was probably something a 3rd party aftermarket company was trying to pitch to Pontiac, something an ASC or Cars & Concepts would do as a package they could add on aftermarket.
Originally Pontiac was also going to put the 301 Turbo V8 in the 1982 Trans Am... GM ruins every good plan set forth. Could you imagine a 301 Turbo Knight Rider edition Trans Am? Oh man, that would have been cool.