Back in the 80’s to have a cool TV car was a must for any show wanting to stay on more than a week. You have the General Lee, the Starsky and Hutch car, the A-Team van, and the most important car of them all. KITT. 

Of course, millions of boys like myself didn’t watch Knight Rider because of David Hasselhoff’s incredible acting, we watched it to see what KITT was going to do or say that week, and was very rarely ever disappointed. 

I actually found the die-cast car of KITT by accident one day while looking around on the web. I had the plastic model once before, but I never even knew they had come out with a die-cast car, so of course I had to grab it.

Packaging - **
Open front, side, and back, really show off this great car. There’s a hole in the package that you can push KITT’s button and watch the red sensor for a few moments before it manually turns off.

Sculpting - ****
JOYRIDE never disappoints with this. Somehow they manage to take a real car and shrink it down with so much detail that it looks as if you could just climb in and drive away. One of the most important details of KITT would of course be the inside control panel, which looks great. The doors open wide enough for you to take in the entire thing. From what I can remember from the show, there was nothing missed inside. The motor is beautiful. Rubber hoses, and painted engine block. I love the detail put into it. And then there is the sensor. There is an on and off switch, plus the ‘try it’ button that lets KITT’s eye roam back and forth. Another great detail that was a must for this car. I don’t know how they did it, but kudos to them! 

Paint - ****
Shiny black, and a dust magnet. The very smallest of details were painted within the dash. One thing that I am scratching my head over though. On the pictures I’ve seen of KITT, the three lights in front of the car are supposed to be 2 silver, and the outer one orange. However, all three of mine are silver? A mistake? I’m not sure, but something to watch out for. 

Articulation - ****
Someone had a lot of fun with this. Both doors open, trunk opens, hood opens - t-tops are removable. There’s a working winch under the front. On the passenger’s side seat, there is a button that when pushed, launches any bad guy out of the chair. It pops up very fast, and if you have the t-top on, it will knock it flying. Very cool, and fun feature.

Accessories - *
Nothing to speak of. Just the car itself.

Fun Factor - ***
With the removable t-tops, working sensor, wench, and ejecting seat, they packed every cool feature you could ever want with KITT. The only thing he doesn’t do is talk. 

Value -  ***
Depending how where you look, you can find KITT from $25 up to $40 but if you manage to get him around $25 it’s well worth the money.

Things to watch out for - 
Nothing really. It’s a solid car. The t-tops don’t snap into place or anything, so they could be lost easily. 

Overall - ****
ERTL and JOYRIDE really know how to make cars. KITT has everything that made him cool in the show (minus the talking). From the sensor, to the detailed interior, to the ejecting seat, to the wench, it’s a must have for any fan of Knight Rider. 

SCORING RECAP:
Packaging - **
Sculpt – ****
Paint – * ***
Articulation – ****
Accessories – *
Fun factor – ***
Value - ***
Overall – * ***