Why Is Knight's K.I.T.T. A Mustang?

[Brian Damage]

Dave Bartis, executive producer of NBC's upcoming Knight Rider TV movie/backdoor pilot, told SCI FI Wire there are several reasons the show features a souped-up Ford Mustang and not the Pontiac Trans Am of the original 1980s series.

"The easy answer is, there is no Trans Am available anymore like the original," Bartis said in an interview on the show's location in Castaic, Calif., earlier this week. "But, you know, we went and looked at all the choices that were out there--all the cars that were available--and personally, I thought this was the coolest car that was out there."

In this sequel to the original series, the new K.I.T.T.--short for Knight Industries Three Thousand--is a supercomputer on wheels, a 540-horsepower black Mustang Shelby GT 500 KR that can morph, change color and hack other computers.

"We knew we needed an American car. We knew we needed a two-door. We knew we needed something that had some muscle to it, and there's nothing like the Mustang," Bartis said. "It's just got incredible iconic history to it, and ... this new one that we've got, the Shelby GT 500 KR, is just an incredible car." (The show also struck a deal with Ford to feature the car in the show.)

The new Knight Rider stars Justin Bruening as Mike Tracer, a former Army Ranger, who is asked by Sarah Graiman (Deanna Russo), a Stanford Ph.D. candidate, to help find her missing father, Charles Graiman (Bruce Davison), inventor of the original K.I.T.T.

Bartis, who executive-produces the movie with filmmaker Doug Liman, said they and writer David Andron tried to remain true to the original series while updating it for a new audience.

"That's been the challenge all along," Bartis said. "When we started it, we decided we needed to figure out how much we were going to reinvent and how much we were going to keep the same. And ... it's just been an ongoing challenge."

Bartis added: "I think one of the things Dave Andron did that was really smart was to create a new character that sort of bridges those worlds. You know, the Charles Graiman character is the guy who built the original K.I.T.T., so he's our connective tissue to all the characters from the original and brings us into the new series. So, because his daughter is romantically connected to the new Knight Rider, it all wraps up really neatly."


http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index...ory=1&id=47370