Knight Rider 2008 KITT revealed

All rumors are put down as the official word from NBC on the return of Night Rider are finally announced today. There was speculation that the new KITT was changing bodies from the still cool Pontiac Trans Am to a Ford Shelby Mustang GT 500KR. All of this is true. The new KITT(Knight Industries Three Thousand) will be a Shelby.

The new KITT has a sinister bad ass look to it, just as the highly modified Trans Am did over 20 years ago. KITT will feature 3 distinct versions in the new show. KITT Hero is a 540 Hp powered hero car. KITT Attack is a super high performance version, with likely some body changes to set it apart. And lastly is KITT Remote. A driverless version. KITT's voice unfortunately will not have the gravel tone of William Daniels who voiced the original. This time around KITT's voice will be actor Will Arnett.

The new Knight Rider will debut on February 17th as a 2 hour movie. The cast will include Justin Bruening, Deanna Russo, Sydney Tamiia Poitier and Bruce Davison. One saving grace will be a guest appearance by none other than the "Hoff" David Hasselhoff, who will be reprising his role as Michael Knight. Glen A. Larson who wrote pretty much all of the original Knight Rider episodes was on hand to write the TV movie. So everything should have the same feel as the original show. Just a bit different.

Source: NBC

PRESS RELEASE:

UPDATED 'KNIGHT RIDER' REVS UP TO RETURN TO NBC FOR SPECIAL TWO-HOUR MOVIE EVENT ON FEBRUARY 17 AS NEW KITT CAR IS REVEALED

BURBANK, Calif. - December 12, 2007 - As "Knight Rider" -- NBC's iconic 1980s television classic that became a runaway success, comes roaring back to life on the network with an updated sequel that will air as a two-hour movie event on Sunday, February 17 (9-11 p.m. ET) -- NBC unveiled the new customized KITT Ford Mustang to be featured in the series in a press event held at NBC's Burbank Studios today.

The movie stars Justin Bruening ("Cold Case," "All My Children"), Deanna Russo ("NCIS," "The Young and the Restless"), Sydney Tamiia Poitier ("Veronica Mars," "Grindhouse") and Bruce Davison ("Breach," "Close to Home"). In addition, David Hasselhoff (NBC's "America's Got Talent") -- who starred in the popular lead role as Michael Knight for four seasons during the original series -- returns as the same character in a special guest-star appearance. Will Arnett (NBC's "30 Rock," "Blades of Glory") will provide the voice of KITT.

Dave Bartis ("Heist," "The O.C.") and Doug Liman ("Mr. and Mrs. Smith," "The Bourne Identity") serve as executive producers. NBC also has an arrangement with Ford Motor Company that provides for a unique content opportunity that makes the Ford Mustang one of the stars of the movie.

The three cars to be employed in the series include the KITT Hero -- a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR that is playing the part of the everyday Hero car with 540 horsepower; the KITT Attack -- a super high-speed version of the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR Hero car that transforms into Attack mode with the help of air-ride technology and specialized body parts -- and a KITT Remote, which is a driverless Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR version of the Hero vehicle.

As the original story resumes, the new KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand) is absolutely the coolest car ever created: its supercomputer capable of hacking almost any system; its weapons systems efficient; and its body -- thanks to its creator's work and nanotechnology -- is capable of actually shifting shape and color. Plus, its artificial intelligence makes it the ideal crime-fighting partner: logical, precise and possessing infinite knowledge. It is the ultimate car -- and someone will be willing to do anything to obtain it.

Sarah Graiman is a 24-year old Ph.D candidate at Stanford University, following in her genius father Charles' (Davison) footsteps. But when men attempt to abduct her, Sarah receives a mysterious call from KITT warning her that he's a creation of Charles, who also invented the first KITT 25 years ago -- and that her father is in serious danger.

Sarah and KITT track down her best friend from childhood, Mike Tracer (Bruening), a 23-year-old ex-Army Ranger, whom Sarah hasn't seen since he left home at 18. Having served in Iraq, Mike is now jaded and lost and initially resistant. Eventually he agrees to help Sarah and the two set out to discover who's behind the attempt to procure KITT and find Charles. Along the way, Carrie Rivai (Poitier) plays the agile yet tough FBI agent who has a long-standing friendship with Charles and Sarah. Due to those ties, she is brought into the mix to help in the search.

David Andron is supervising producer and writer. Steve Shill ("Dexter," "The Tudors"), also a co-executive producer, directs the two-hour movie from Universal Media Studios and Dutch Oven Productions.

Camo'd Camaro spotted in Australia

Looks like the General is doing some down under testing of the 2009 Camaro. Why they have the car camouflaged is anyone's guess though. Chevrolet vowed to keep the car as close as possible to the concept car as they could. You can make out the roof line is the same and the rear end looks to be pretty similar to the concept. No good shots of the front end though. Enjoy the pics.

Source: Straightline via Autoblog.com.

More Shelby Shenanigans. Shelby refuses to renew club's license

We have been reading a lot about Carroll Shelby and Shelby America cutting ties with Unique Performance in the production of the GT 500 Eleanor and GT 350 continuation cars, but this is now on the verge of Shelby turning into a bitter old man.

In a move that seems down right shady, Carroll Shelby and Shelby Licensing has announced that they will not allow the renewal of the Shelby American Automobile Club license after 33 years. Not only that, but Shelby's lawyers have served the club with orders to release all materials, documents, registry information, financial info, and merchandise to Shelby.

The 5,000 + member club which has operated for 33 years and has compiled an extensive database on every Shelby car made. Which is quite an amazing feat. What is great to hear is they are not going to take this lying down. They have started a donation fund for legal counsel to rebut these demands.

This comes after the announcement that Shelby America is forming their own club, Team Shelby. Though to just up an stomp out the group of enthusiasts that have helped to keep the legend of Shelby cars alive, and many of which are customers who purchase new GT 500s and Shelby GTs. This is the prefect way to drive them away.

Volkswagen of America pulled a similar stunt about 10 years ago, by going after repair shop, parts suppliers, enthusiast websites, and clubs for use of the Volkswagen name and logo. It caused a lot of bad blood as it drove hundreds of the very people who helped to build their brand and annual car sales to the waiting arms of Toyota and Honda.

We were longtime fans of Carroll Shelby and his cars. That is of course until today. We are not planning to do anymore features on Carroll Shelby or Shelby vis this website. Though updates on this particular topic will be addressed as more info becomes available.

Source: Hemmings Motor News, Shebly American Automobile Club.

Chevrolet Chevelle Concept

General Motors' Revitalization in Action team has dreamed up many of the modern concept cars that we drool over year after year. As a concept, we aren't sure if the newest car will be come a reality. Though you have to admit that the Chevelle concept surely hits on the highs of the original Chevelle muscle car of the 60s & 70s. There is not much on the details of the concept. Other than it is based on the rear wheel drive Zeta platform. The addres for the website include NAIAS, so we're assuming that we'll see the Chevelle Concept at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next month.

Source: GMInsideNews.

Steve McQueen Rides Again! The 2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt

Few will deny that the 1968 movie Bullitt staring Steve McQueen, is undoubtedly one of the greatest car movies ever made. Images of a black 68 Dodge Charger R/T and a green 68 Mustang GT tearing up the streets of San Francisco are engraved into the mind of every car nut. Thanks in part to both the movie and McQueen's popularity, Ford built a special edition Bullitt Mustang GT in 2001. The retro styled Mustang packed the punch and overall look of the the 68 GT used in the movie. But it wasn't quite what the doctor ordered.

Fast forward to 2006. Motor Trend wanted to have a photo shoot in San Francisco for their road test on the new Dodge Charger R/T and pair it with the all new Mustang GT. Ford agreed and took a new yellow GT and repainted it 1968 Highland Green for the shoot. In that article, there was a small tid bit that Ford had plans in the works for a new Bullitt Mustang for 2008. Just in time for the 40th anniversary of the movie.

It's finally official. The Bullitt Mustang will make a triumphant return in 2008. While the car has not been "officially" unveiled, that will happen at the Los Angeles Auto Show. We are treated to a press release and some press day pictures from a press event in San Francisco this week.

Along with Highland Green, the 2008 Bullitt will also be offered in basic black. The rest of the car has been given an even more impressive retro treatment. The entire car will be completely badge less. No pony emblems on the sides or grille, just like the original. There will be a faux gas cap on the back which will carry a special center with gun cross hairs and the Bullitt name. The grille will be solid black mesh, without a pony emblem and a simple, but effective chrome surround on the edge. 18 inch aluminum wheels will have gunmetal painted spokes, and while they have been available in a polished finish, evoke memory of the classic American Racing Torque Thrust wheels of the 60s.

The interior will be finished in black leather(hopefully with a retro seat pattern). The dashboard will be treated to a machine turned aluminum finish, that looks oh so cool.

The business end of the Bullitt is just as impressive. The motor will be the same 4.6 liter V8 found in all standard Mustang GTs, though for the Bullitt, Ford Racing was on hand to tweak the camshaft timing, new calibrations, and air intakes. The chassis and suspension have also been tuned to enhance the handling. Which includes sport springs, a strut tower bar, and more. The tuned exhaust has also been tweaked, thanks to digital enhancement of the movie, to match the original perfectly.

The 08 Bullitt will have a ground stomping 315 Horsepower with 325 Ft. Lbs. of torque. All of this is routed through a 6spd manual trans and the same rear end at the GT 500 Shelby with 3.73:1 gears.

For announced a production run of 7700 Bullitt editions. Each car will be numbered on the strut tower brace, rather than by a plaque on the dashboard. The Bullitt will begin to roll off the assembly line in the first quarter of 2008, and showing up in Showrooms just in time for the warm weather to hit. With 7000 cars bound for the U.S. and the last 700 bound for Canada. Pricing is expected to be around $31,075. So it's rather reasonably priced too. I'm going to put my order in now.

Look for more updates on this one.

Source: Autoblog.com

Mr.Norm Strikes Again!

In the 1960s and early 1970s there were special dealers in the automotive industry who epitomized the spirit of high performance. Cheverolet had Yenko, Nickey, Baldwin, Gibb and Dana. Ford had Tasca; Pontiac had Royal, Knafel and Packer. The Mopar guys had Mr. Norm’s Grand Spaulding Dodge.

Norm Krauss revolutionized how high-performance cars were sold, and went so far as to create his own prototype 383 Dart GTS and the now famous M-Code 440 Dart, both eventually made it into regular Chrysler production.

Well, Mr. Norm is back and is offering a repeat of the golden days with the finest 21st century parts and accessories. However, the new Mr. Norm Mopars exceed the performance of the originals in every way. Each vehicle has its own production number and comes with a build book, production sheet and build order, and is delivered by Mr. Norm himself, just as he did back in the day. These new 1968 Darts are powered by a 528 cubic inch Hemi putting out 725 HP! It will also have 17" wheels and disc brakes all around.

Production will be limited to just 40 cars. Mr. Norm’s GSS Hemi Darts are capable of 10-second quarter-mile times. For more information, call 847-838-8749