As a kid I was a huge fan of Knight Rider, the TV show that ran from 1982 to 1986, about a man and his sentient Pontiac Firebird who investigated crimes that always seemed to require a car-based solution. As a sci-fi fantasy, it had everything an awkward 10-year-old growing up in the 1980's could ask for: a billionaire benefactor, a best friend who was a talking car, the idea that you could have your face replaced with much handsomer face, and a flirtatious relationship with a beautiful, big-haired woman who added random gadgets to your car that always turned out to be exactly what you needed.
Naturally, when I saw that there was a GTA 5 mod that adds KITT, the invulnerable talking car from the show, I had to try it out. This mod adds both the original car as well as the KITT from the short-lived 2008 series.
When I activated the mod in story mode, a text message informed me KITT was on his way. As I waited outside Michael's house, I realized something: I was excited. Like, genuinely excited. Was KITT actually going to drive himself to me? Golly! For a while, nothing happened, but then I saw a large transport truck turn and head up the road.
In the original show, this is often how KITT and Michael Knight got around, riding in the back of a truck, which would lower a ramp allowing KITT to drive off it (often while the truck was still moving—so cool). Was this how KITT was being delivered? As it turns out, no. This was just a regular truck, though it teased me by first driving by, then turning around and coming back down the street a second time.
It had now been about a minute of waiting, and I wondered if the mod was broken. I ran down to the corner and looked around, but still, no KITT. Then, from behind me, I heard the telltale vooh-vooh, vooh-vooh that signified KITT's huge electronic brain. I spun around and there he was. He'd even opened his door for me. Again, this was really exciting. I loved that damn show and I loved that damn car, and here it was! KITT!
While he doesn't have an actual red thinky-light, he does speak, introducing himself in a sound clip featuring the original voice actor, William Daniels. And, this mod version of KITT has a number of powers from the show, accessed by using the number pad on your keyboard. He can auto-drive you to a waypoint on your map. He can also follow you while you're walking around. And, if you leave him behind, you can summon him to your location. He can drive on two wheels, called skiing. He can also fire rockets, which I don't specifically remember from the show but was probably in there somewhere.
Turbo boost? Can KITT turbo boost?
Hell yeah he can.
The mod is also packed with little sound effects from the show—the turbo boost sound, the beeps when Michael would press a button mounted on KITT's interior, and so on. So cool.
I also checked out the KITT from the second Knight Rider series, which I never watched. The car is obviously a bit of an upgrade, and does have the red thinky-light that moves back and forth, which is really neat. It also has transformation powers: it can change color and even reshape itself into different vehicles. And, it has a giant machine-gun. I guess that was part of the 2008 show? I'm not sure. But, it's cool. Both versions of KITT are invulnerable, obviously, and drive at higher speeds than normal.
You can download the Knight Rider KITT mod here. It requires ScriptHookV and Community ScripthookV. All three of those downloads have installation instructions in their readme files.
