A Knight Rider fan has spent over 10 years transforming a run down vehicle into the iconic car from the hit 1980s TV series. Scott Bainbridge shelled out more than $22,000 to a turn an unloved Pontiac Trans Am into his very own Kitt - the car driven by David Hasselhoff in the show.
Scott bought the car in 2004 and started to re-create the sleek black vehicle - which even speaks in the voice of Kitt from the film and had to replace a lot of parts to get the Knight Rider model up to scratch – including fitting a new engine to the damaged vehicle.
Scott bought the car in 2004 and started to re-create the sleek black vehicle - which even speaks in the voice of Kitt from the film and had to replace a lot of parts to get the Knight Rider model up to scratch – including fitting a new engine to the damaged vehicle.
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00:00 00;01;10;22 00;01;15;22 Night Rider, a classic 1980s TV series,
00:10 in which David Hasselhoff fought crime with the help of his talking car.
00:14 00;01;17;22 00;01;22;22 This is the story of one man's ten year crusade to build his own
00:23 personal replica of Michael Knight's iconic vehicle, Kit.
00:29 00;01;29;00 00;01;35;00 He's Scott Bainbridge, and he lives in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in the
00:40 north of England.
00:41 00;01;39;00 00;01;45;00 >> SCOTT BAINBRIDGE
00:42 Night Rider's sort of a combination between technology and a cool car, so when you bring
00:47 those two together, I just fell in love with it.
00:50 00;01;45;00 00;01;50;00 All the cool lights on the dashboard, the scanner light, and the
00:54 car they used is a great looking car to begin with, so it's just really won me over.
00:58 00;01;50;00 00;02;00;00 >> In 2004, Scott bought a Wreck Pontiac Trans Am, and after ten years
01:05 work and an outlay of £18,000, has transformed it into a stunning replica of Kit.
01:11 00;02;00;00 00;02;05;00 >> I wouldn't say there's one specific thing I like about the car on
01:15 its own, it's sort of a combination of everything.
01:18 I mean, it's black, it's sleek, and then you've got all the custom stuff on the inside.
01:24 Everything works really well.
01:25 00;02;05;00 00;02;10;00 >> When Scott began his project ten years ago,
01:28 his Pontiac looked very different to how it looks today.
01:31 00;02;10;00 00;02;15;00 >> I first got the car back in 2004.
01:33 It arrived on a low loader, and it was in a very, very sorry state.
01:38 So it's taken me ten years to get it from what it was originally up to what you see
01:42 now, which is the whole interior has to be redone, all new dashboards, new carpets, new
01:48 wheels, and that's just to get it to look like a night rider car.
01:52 But I'm also restoring a 25-year-old American car, so it's had welding, new doors, new wings,
01:59 new windscreen, paint, everything.
02:01 Everything's been replaced.
02:03 00;02;15;00 >> As well as fitting a 5.7 litre V8 engine, Scott has also paid special attention
02:11 to recreating the technical aspects of the original TV car.
02:15 Gadget-wise, it's got the full dashboard with the TVs, the kit can talk to you.
02:29 Gadgets planned for the future include an oil slick, smoke screen, grappling hook, but
02:36 I don't think it'll get as far as over-cruise, unfortunately.
02:40 Scott now takes his kit to car shows and sci-fi events.
02:44 How do I feel when I'm out driving it?
02:46 It's great.
02:47 I don't pretend to be Michael Knight and I'm fighting crime or anything like that, but
02:52 it's nice to just get out and hear the noise and whatnot.
02:57 And the dramatic-looking vehicle always causes a stir on the roads.
03:01 00;03;00;00 >> It just looks like a night rider, doesn't it?
03:04 And you can't remember a night rider.
03:05 It's fab, really good.
03:06 It looks like the real thing.
03:07 I love it.
03:08 00;03;10;00 >> I saw a good thing.
03:09 00;03;11;00 >> Whoa, look at this.
03:10 It's a supercar with all the gadgets, all the toys, absolutely everything you could
03:17 ever want.
03:18 An IT's dream as well, really.
03:20 The 30-year-old postman says he's become used to the amount of attention the car generates.
03:25 00;03;21;00 >> I get quite a lot of thumbs up and people flashing lights in their cars
03:28 and people taking pictures of me.
03:31 Yeah, it's usually positive.
03:32 I think it brings back a lot of memories for people when they see a kid cruising down the
03:36 road.
03:37 00;03;36;00 >> However, Scott is not finished yet and still has several improvements he
03:42 wants to make to the car.
03:44 Is it complete?
03:45 No.
03:46 All the dashboard needs to come back out soon, I hope, when I get my new set of electronics.
03:50 That'll take a while.
03:53 There's other little bits on the body work that need sorted out, so it probably will
03:57 be getting painted for a third time.
04:00 And then I've got new interior panels to put in as well.
04:03 Going back to the screen accuracy thing, the plastics are a tan colour, but mine aren't
04:07 quite right, so I've got a new set, which need to go in.
04:12 Do I have any plans to fit turbo boost?
04:14 No, in a simple word.
04:15 It might be fun getting some air, but on the way back down, I think the car will be a write-off,
04:19 so we'll leave that one up.
04:21 [MUSIC PLAYING]