The Universal Studios Theme Park KITT - Got any Pics?

firebirdta84

Does anyone have any pics of the Knight Rider KITT cars that Universal used at their theme park in California? Either while it was on display or in the years since. The car you see below was on display from the 80's until the late 90's, then sat outside the tram garage until 2008:





I've already scoured the Internet for pics, but if you guys have any of your own - love to see them!

Joe

GBRyker61

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME???? By no stretch of the imagination is this how you treat one of the greatest characters/vehicles in television history. When things like this happen, I get really pissed off. I remember when I went down there with my family when I was 18. It was our first time going, and seeing that car in person was one of the greatest moments of my life. It was so awesome to sit in the driver's seat of a car I had watched on TV as a kid. I'm sorry if I'm taking this personally, but Knight Rider was one of my favorite shows.

steveo3002

was that a real screen used car or a mock up? i sat in it back in the day and the dash /steering wheel etc was just like a big molded look alike peice so no one could damage it or steal parts

any uk members spotted the kitt on the tv ad yet...has the wrong sill/rocker panels


New Müller ad 2011 - wünderful stuff - YouTube

HAL9000

I'm too freaked out by that ad to notice.
Still trying to work what the link between
Knight Rider, Mr Men and Yogi Bear is?

And how does it start in London and end up with
A wide shot of...Looks like Detroit.

steveo3002

think the makers thought we wouldnt notice its a u.s backlot if they stuck a uk uniform on the traffic warden ...unless its filmed and edited for all countrys?

firebirdta84

The car pictured above is an original screen used car. It was a stunt car but when Universal put it on display, they put a dash in it.

Joe

steveo3002

ah cool , ive got some photos of it but no scanner , planning to get one soon so will try and update it

looked nice when i saw it...apart from the vandal proof interior

TylerHam

There were a LOT of KITTs - They filmed part of the season 3 opened KNIGHT OF THE DRONES at my house when I was a kid, and even for THAT, they brought a truck with 6 backup KITTs ...

firebirdta84

TylerHam - Very cool! Which house was yours? I will have to check out the episode! Did you take any pics during the filming?

Joe

steveo3002

yeah would love to hear more about that if you have the time

TylerHam

My house was the one on the hill that "Margo" lives in with the two twin guards... (Dont live there anymore)

They shot for 3 days - I have a lot of pictures, and D.H. even gave me his personal crew hat - I still have it.. Its cool because its pretty beaten up.. I guess he wore it for a while before he gave it to me

firebirdta84

That's fantastic! Here's a screenshot from the episode for those not familiar with the show:



Joe

TylerHam

Thats my house
I lived there from before I was 1, up until I turned 10 or so - My dad built the house.. Its in the hills of Tiburon, Ca. (They shot a Jacuzzi commercial in the Jacuzzi, too

TylerHam

I dont have any scans online, but this is one that is on a Marin county nostalgia site, marinnostalgia.com

Thats me in 1985

space rat

If that was a stunt car someone added an airdam from the 1984 TA aero package to the front. This part was never on KITT. The seats are also the wrong style.

firebirdta84

space rat - you are exactly right. The air dam was added by Universal specifically for display purposes. It hid some of the audio equipment that allowed the car to talk to the visitors at the park. Regarding the seats, this car DID have the correct seats when first on display. The problem is, with thousands of visitors getting in and our of the car, the original seats were worn over the decade, so Universal just threw any seats in there - that's the reason for the non-authentic ones.

Joe

phierma

I have pictures of it from when I visited the park years ago. They are put away in a "safe place" (i.e., not sure where my box of photos ended up after my most recent move). If I come across them I'll try to get them cleanly scanned and uploaded.

space rat

Always wished that they added the aero package to KITT. I thought it would have looked great on it. In 1985 when they made the ground effects bigger and added that beautiful spoiler to the TA , I thought for sure they would. Still, it's a shame how Universal treated that car. Especially since it was screen used. Maybe someone will fix it up someday.

BTTFSpencer

I can do better than pics...

K.I.T.T. @ UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD in 1996 - YouTube

Ectomac

Is there a reason why it's parked like a boat in a dock?

PropCollector55

Wow, that is a great video!!
In the end they showed all those movie cars! Alot of them are not on display anymore, Does anyone know what they did with the derby cars from The Little Rascals and the VW Bug from Uncle Buck? Wounder where they are now!

steveo3002

heres mine , possibly around 95/96 or so

maybe its on the boat dock so people could take pics without a crowd , when i wnet you could line up and was led one at time to sit in it

firebirdta84

Thanks for the pic! Yes, that's exactly why it was surrounded with water...so crowds wouldn't form around the car.

Joe

lint

I remember sitting in it. I asked KITT what his phone number was and he told me he didn't have one. I was bummed.

JimShine

There was more than one car used. The one with air dam was not a screen used car. There are many pics of it out there. It was cobbled together with leftover real parts to build a cleaner display car. That shot of it out back was just before it was junked.