Pontiac
Firebird Trans Am "KITT" 1982 screen fleet (Knight Rider)

Why it matters

KITT, the talking black Trans Am of Knight Rider, was one of the best-known television cars of the 1980s and was treated as a character in its own right. Fewer than a handful of the original screen cars survive, which makes provenance the central issue for any car sold as KITT.

How rare is it?

Six separate kinds of rarity – never combined into one number.

Each kind of rarity is rated separately and never combined.

Production

Every figure says what it counts.

Independent counts (e.g. engine and colour) are never combined into a calculated figure. Surviving examples are never presented as original production.

History

Designer Michael Scheffe styled KITT and built the first car; the studio then applied his design to three other factory Trans Ams, with the four cars serving as a hero car, a lightweight jump car, a hidden-driver car and a ground stunt car. In spring 1983 a train carrying Trans Ams derailed in California; the cars could not be sold, so GM sold the production 10 to 12 of them for $1 each on condition they be destroyed after use, and six more cars were bought over the rest of the series.

After the show ended in 1986 most cars were destroyed, reportedly by wrecking ball, under the agreement between the studio and General Motors. Historians counted about five survivors: one in a museum, others restored by collectors, and one stunt car that had served as a seated display car at the Universal Studios attraction until 1993 before being rescued from a junkyard. One survivor is on loan at the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles.

Technical specifications

Engine

Transmission & drivetrain

Chassis, body & dimensions

Performance

“Not yet verified” means no source has been checked for that value yet. Nothing is estimated to fill a gap.

Sources

Each number links to the exact facts it supports.

1. 1
   Knight Rider historians and the original KITT Level C

   • 20 approximately 20 screen-used KITT Trans Ams (hero, jump, hidden-driver and stunt cars among them), per Motor1 and Newsweek

   Accessed 2026-11-13
2. 2
   Knight Rider historians and the original KITT Level C Motor1.com

   • out of approximately 20 screen-used cars, only five still exist

   Accessed 2026-11-13