It’s a mystery on the streets of New York City. What traffic law violator with unpaid fines drives a black Pontiac Trans Am that looks like the talking computer car from the 1980s “Knight Rider” TV series, and even has the same license plate?
Officials at the Illinois Museum are among the people who want to know. The Volo Museum near Chicago, which has a replica of the gallery’s Trans Am that has not moved from its gallery in years, recently received a $50 traffic ticket from the Big Apple, alleging that his car was traveling at 36 mph (59 km/h) in a 25 mph (40 km/h) zone in Brooklyn on April 22.
The ticket came complete with traffic camera photos showing a black Trans Am with the California license plate KNIGHT, the same plate as the car on display and the new plate found on the unregistered museum car. The license plate is also linked to five other unpaid traffic violations in New York City since late 2024, city records show.
It was not immediately clear how the city linked the painting to the museum. City officials did not immediately respond to emails and phone messages Wednesday.
“The fact that we’re legally associated with a movie is interesting,” said Jim Vogdila, the museum’s director of marketing. “We’re known for having Hollywood cars from TV and movies, but I have no idea how we registered from a ticket in New York to plates in California to a Volo Museum in Illinois. We’re still trying to figure that out.”
The museum requested a hearing to appeal the ticket.
“It’s really fun,” Wojdila said. “We want to know who this Knight Rider guy is, birds of a feather. We just want to know is this from a museum, is this just a guy who built this car as a hobby? And it seems pretty accurate. We’d like to meet these guys.”
Starring David Hasselhoff as a crime fighter, “Knight Rider” aired on NBC from 1982 to 1986 and featured KITT, a black Trans Am equipped with a sour talking computer. (KITT stands for Knight Industries Two Thousand). About 20 KITTS were built for the display but only five of the originals remain, Road & Al Masar magazine reported.
There are also several replicas around, including a museum version. The Knight Rider KITT Car Club Facebook group for people who own replicas has nearly 19,000 members.
According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, a person with the last name Knight renewed his registration on the state plate KNIGHT in March.
New York City is authorized by state law to operate up to 750 cameras equipped with speed detectors. When a camera catches a speeding driver, it records images of the vehicle and its license plate. The city’s website says staff at the city’s Department of Transportation review violations and mail tickets to vehicle owners if vehicles are traveling more than 10 mph (16 km/h) above the speed limit.
The Volo Museum is having fun with the ticket issue on its social media. She recently changed her title on her Facebook page to “Home of the Knight Rider KITT who famously got a speeding ticket in New York City without leaving her gallery in Illinois!”
“Does anyone know Hasselhoff’s number? He owes us $50!!!!” says one of her posts.