KITT drops “The Hoff”, and replaces him with Derek
This Monday (12 April) will see the return to British TV screens of the nation’s favourite car – KITT, the iconic Pontiac Trans Am from the 80s series Knight Rider. However, the other star of the show - KITT’s human partner, David Hasselhoff - has been replaced by a mechanic called Derek.
Research released by Kwik-Fit reveals that of all the cars to appear on British TV screens, more people (18%) would like to own KITT than any other1. The talking car is more popular than Inspector Morse’s classic Jaguar, and the Ferraris from two US shows – Miami Vice and Magnum PI. The Batmobile completes the top five.
The findings showed the enduring appeal of TV’s star cars, with the top ten including three from the 1960s (The Batmobile, FAB1 and the Saint’s Volvo P1800), as well as a current favourite in Gene Hunt’s Audi Quattro, which, like KITT, has just returned to our screens.
The top ten favourite TV cars
Star Car - Percentage of adults saying they would most like to own it
KITT from Knight Rider 18.4%
Inspector Morse's Jaguar Mk II 16.1%
Ferrari Testarossa from MiamiVice 8.2%
Magnum PI's Ferrari 308 5.0%
The Batmobile 4.5%
Gene Hunt's Audi Quattro in Ashes to Ashes 4.4%
FAB1, Lady Penelope's Rolls Royce from the Thunderbirds 2.7%
General Lee (Dodge Charger) from Dukes of Hazzard 2.4%
The Saint's Volvo P1800 2.1%
The A Team's GMC Vandura van 2.0%
Kwik-Fit surveyed more than 2000 people across the UK to find the car which would most appeal for the company’s new advertising campaign. In the advertisement, which will be first seen on Monday during Fifth Gear on Five, KITT is in a Kwik-Fit centre having his brakes repaired. Instead of his traditional sidekick, Michael Knight (David Hasselhoff), KITT is in the caring hands of Derek, who also advises him about Kwik-Fit’s free lifetime brakes guarantee.
David White, customer services director at Kwik-Fit says: “We wanted to make an ad starring a car which is truly loved by British drivers. Our research showed that KITT is top of that list and we hope the ad will really appeal to KITT’s many fans.
“We saw the enduring interest in KITT at first hand when we filmed the ad – he attracted a huge crowd of passers-by and as the word spread about the shoot more and more people came from nearby buildings to have their photo taken with him.
“The KITT ad is the latest addition to our “You’ll be amazed” campaign – it supports our promise that if you buy new brake pads or shoes, that we’ll replace them for free for as long as you own the car. And that applies to any car, it doesn’t have to be a star of TV.”