Sponsored: K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider is now available as a kit

The best TV programmes of my childhood have one thing in common: a star vehicle. There are three that stick in the memory: the General Lee from The Dukes of Hazzard, the GMC Vandura from The A-Team and Michael Knight’s K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider.

I had models of them all, which added a touch of Americana to the lengthy traffic jam running across the living room floor. I had a thing for the mundane, even then, so it must have looked odd seeing a Pontiac Firebird Trans Am sandwiched between a Renault 5 Le Car and Citroën Dyane.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I’d run my finger over the front of the Pontiac to mimic the red scanner. I’ll even admit to making the familiar ‘wooshing’ noise that accompanied the red light. There’s no truth in the rumour that I did the same thing when pretending to be Michael Knight on my BMX bike. No truth whatsoever. I was a young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent on the mean streets of a provincial Hampshire town.

I stopped short of donning a black leather jacket, but I did pretend my Casio watch was a Knight Industries comlink. ‘Michael, I really think it’s time for you to head back for dinner; your mum will be getting worried about you.’ I’ve got no idea where my model K.I.T.T. (Knight Industries Two Thousand) went.

Many miniature saloons, hatchbacks and estate cars escaped death by skirting board, growing up and the charity shop to remain in my possession, but my little slices of Americana have gone. I do have a Unisonic The Dukes of Hazzard LCD quartz watch, but that’s a story for another day.

Just add black leather jacket and perm

Seven-year-old me would be extremely excited about news of a new 1:8 scale K.I.T.T. from Fanhome. Who am I trying to kid? Current me is also extremely excited about the news; it’s like all my childhood Christmases have come at once.

The model features working headlights, brake lights and interior lights, functioning steering wheel that turns the wheels, a rotating license plate, fully detailed engine, plus doors, bonnet and boot that open. It gets better, because you also get a watch to control things like the headlights, red scanner and even K.I.T.T.’s voice. Just add a black leather jacket and a 1980s perm for the authentic Knight Rider experience.

Why wasn’t this available when I was seven?

If you’re not familiar with Fanhome, it specialises in collections and build-up models from brands like Marvel and Star Wars. It means that you’ll build K.I.T.T. using monthly deliveries, which include magazines about the TV programme and free gifts. Place an order by 30 November 2021 and you’ll get a Knight Rider t-shirt and K.A.R.R. in 1:43 scale.

K.I.T.T. for tat

K.A.R.R. (Knight Automated Roving Robot) was a prototype vehicle and K.I.T.T. rival in two episodes of the first series of Knight Rider. I didn't pretend to be driving K.A.R.R. while riding my BMX, but a model would be nice. I’ve never built a subscription-based model before, but I’ll be building this one.

It makes a change from Lego and getting frustrated with yet another issue with the Peugeot 406 Coupé restoration. ‘K.I.T.T., I need you to remove this goddam oil filter for me because I’m about to throw in the towel… again.’ Not convinced that a Pontiac has a place on PetrolBlog? I’ll close by saying that one of the three license plates is French and comes complete with a European flag. A case of K.I.T.T. for (French) tat? That worked better in my head.

Will I finish K.I.T.T. before the Citroën AX GT is back on the road? Place your bets… Check out the Fanhome website to start collecting. Use the promo code KITT when placing your order.

This is a sponsored post, but the words are written by PetrolBlog.