Kitt - KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand)

KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand)

The 2008 update to Knight Rider includes a new KITT – the acronym now standing for "Knight Industries Three Thousand". The KITT platform is patterned on a Shelby GT500KR and differs from the original Two Thousand unit in several ways. For example, the 2008 KITT utilizes nano-technology, allowing the car's outer shell to change colors and morph itself into similar car forms temporarily. The nanotech platform is written as needing the AI active in order to produce any of these effects, unlike the original car's gadgets and "molecular bonded shell" which allowed it to endure extreme impacts. These down-sides to the use of nanotech have been demonstrated when villains are able to cause significant damage, such as shooting out windows, when the AI is deactivated. It can also turn into two different types of a Ford F-150 4x4 truck (one completely stock and the other with some modifications), a Ford E-150 van, a Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, a special edition Warriors In Pink Mustang (in support of breast cancer awareness month), and a Ford Flex for disguise or to use the alternate modes' capabilities (such as off-road handling). The car can engage an "Attack Mode", featuring scissor/conventional hybrid doors, which allows it to increase speed and use most of its gadgets (including turbo boost). It had a different looking attack mode in the pilot which was used whenever the car needed to increase speed. Its downside however is that it only seats two. KITT is also capable of functioning in a submerged configuration, maintaining life support and system integrity while underwater. While the original series stated that the original KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand) was designed by Wilton Knight, the 2008 TV movie implies that Charles Graiman may have co-designed the car and the AI for Wilton Knight, and was subsequently relocated to protect him and his family, and later designed the Knight Industries Three Thousand. KITT's weapons include a grappling hook located in the front bumper, usable in normal and attack modes, and missile launchers usable only in attack mode, which were first used in "Knight of the Hunter". In the Halloween episode "Knight of the Living Dead", KITT demonstrates the ability to cosmetically alter his appearance, becoming a black Mustang convertible with a pink trim as a Halloween costume. This configuration had the scanner bar relocated to behind the grille. Dr. Graiman also reveals in this episode that a backup neural network exists when he suggests downloading KITT's files and reuploading them to the backup, to which replies "The Backup is not me." In the Pilot, KITT had shown himself capable of similarly altering his external appearance — changing his color and licence plate. In "Knight of the Zodiac", KITT uses a dispenser located in his undercarriage to spread black ice, and a fingerprint generator in the glovebox to overlay the fingerprints of a captured thief over Mike's.

Although it can be noted that the car model name (GT-500 KR) bears the initials of the series, this is merely a coincidence as the initials actually stand for "King of the Road". The 2008-2009 Ford Shelby GT500KR is a 40th Anniversary tribute to the 1967-1968 GT500, produced in 1968.