The new Knight Rider: Fiction based on technological reality?

Based on the 1980s hit TV series, the new Knight Rider show is making waves on Melita More at the moment. But is the new KITT - a still-to-be-released Ford Mustang - technological fact or fiction?

Car lovers in the 1980s had one small screen idol: KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand), a sporty 1982 Pontiac Trans Am that could out-charm The Hoff while activating a flame thrower and analysing your blood type both at the same time. KITT was cool, good-looking and most importantly endowed with advanced artificial intelligence that allowed it to accept voice control commands, interact with its driver and execute decisions on its own. The fact that it was a smooth-looking Pontiac was the cherry on the cake. From a technological vantage point, all this was pure science fiction two decades ago, of course. Fast-forward 20 years and the concept of a smooth, gravelly voice bidding you a good morning as you slide into your seat might have less of the sci-fi and more of the mundane about it. After all, a "talking" car is a very common extra nowadays.

So how did the creators of the new Knight Rider series go around this obstacle? They souped up the new model, a totally tough-looking Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR, to the high heavens, transforming it into a techie toy par excellence. The old KITT could analyse your blood type but the new KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand) goes a step further and checks out your DNA. The Pontiac had Infrared Tracking Scope but the Shelby also boasts radar, sonar and a military-grade GPS. Add a laser weapon system, the ability to create holographic imagery and laser-guided missile defence and you'll realise that the new KITT is more akin to a military jet fighter than a car.

But the surprise of the season is not the supercomputer that can hack almost any system (been there, seen that) and not even the sophisticated weapons system (James Bond jaded us to all that). The Mustang, get this, also has the ability to shape-shift, transformers style.

Oh, and it can change colour at will too! Granted that all of the "transforming" will be done through CGI animation, but as the creators themselves tell us, it's nothing that a few odd decades of technology advances can't achieve. According to Gary Scott Thompson, executive producer of Knight Rider, this is pretty much a question of cutting-edge, real-world technology.

The shape-shifting technology is actually backed up by Microsoft's headquarters. Yes, you read correctly. According to a story leaked by Pickuptrucks.com, the Knight Rider production team actually paid a visit to Microsoft in order to get advice about what future car models are likely to look like. Besides the obvious specs about super-advanced software and hardware, Microsoft came up with the premise that future cars - and by future they mean the very near future, in less than three decades - will be able to shape-shift as long as they keep to the same mass.

Both the original KITT and the one employed for the new series are also endowed with artificial intelligence. This is the gateway that enables the car to develop a personality of its own by learning from people around it.

As for KITT's famed GPS, its super-precise functions were deemed so impressive that GPS manufacturers Mio decided to collaborate with Navtones and to partner up with Universal Studios to make it possible for real-life drivers to allow KITT to help manoeuvre them out of any traffic situation. The GPS not only offers voice guidance and turn-by-turn directions featuring the voice of KITT from the original series; it also features an active LED voice synthesiser display that moves in sync with the voice, just as it did on KITT's dashboard. The Knight Rider GPS can even be programmed to advise drivers of speed limit infractions for those inclined to apply too much turbo boost.

Knight Rider: The Series airs on Melita More every Monday at 9.15 p.m. while the classic Knight Rider is shown daily at 10.05 a.m.