For, on the same day he clicked off 85 years, the first example of the latest and perhaps the greatest car to bear his name, the 2008 Shelby GT500KR (as in "King of the Road"), rolled out of the company's Las Vegas shop. This new KR, which is essentially a 2008 Shelby GT500 Mustang turned up to eleven, was created to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the original King of the Road, a hotted -up version of the already plenty hot 1968 Shelby GT500.

Chatting with Mustang architect Lee Laccoca one day in 1967, ol' Shel got the wind of plans within Chevrolet to announce a King of the Road version of the Corvette in a scant 2 weeks. The car debuted in April of 1968 with 428ci Cobra Jet V-8 engine, very conservatively rated at 335hp and 440 pf of torque. Before they were done, Shelby and Ford had unleashed 1571 GT500KR Mustangs on an unsuspecting America; 1053 fastback coupes and 518 convertibles. The new KR is a coupe-only model, and among the modern-era Mustangs, it perhaps best recalls the dizzyingly fast Cobra R from 8 yrs ago. Like the Cobra R, the GT500KR as first seems almost too savage and single minded for its own good, monumentally powerful and possessed of preternatural racetrack reflexes.

But the King is vastly more civilized, offering a surprisingly tame Highway ride and amenities the Cobra R never did, including AC, a stereo, and a back seat. You can even specify a DVD-based navigation system and a Sirius Satellite Radio.

The sprawling facility, now home to the Ford Racing High performance Driving School, is the grand undertaking of Utah businessman, Larry Miller, who, in addition to owning more than 40 car dealerships and the Utah Jazz basketball team, happens to be a Shelby and Ford fanatic. Among the inestimably valuable cars in his tidy museum is the very first production Shelby Cobra (CSX2002) and the 1966 Le Mans-winning GT40. There is very little about the Shelby GT500KR that can be described as restrained. To their credit, however, SVT and Shelby exercised a remarkably light touch in the appearance department. Everything that looks different here is different for a purpose.

The KR is a bit more hunkered down than the GT500; it is lower by 20mm up front and 15mm at the rear. A broad carbon fiber front splitter increases downforce over the front wheels by a significant 31% while reducing drag by 3%, and a revised rear spoiler (more petite than the GT500’s) helps cut the car’s drag coefficient from 0.384 to 0.372.

Otherwise, there are the expected stripes and rocker-panel graphics, a handful of the 40^th anniversary badges, embroidered head-rests we could do without, a numbered plaque on the dashboard and the hood – a scooped and vented tumescent sculpture in carbon fiber. The suspension is fundamentals unchanged from the rest of the Mustang range – struts up front and a solid axle at the rear – but SVT has revised every aspect of its tune for KR service. During discussions with engineers from SVT and Shelby regarding KR’s handling, the conversation turned to that live axle. “Surely there is a better solution than a big hunk of iron b/w the rear wheels,” say journalists.

“Surely a sophisticated independent rear suspension would better befit a vehicle of the King’s stature and price tag.”

With a burly iron block and aluminium 4-valve heads, the KR’s suprcharges and intercooled 5.4l V-8 is an impressive sight, filling the Mustang’s engine bay like Ray Lewis fills a bathtub. The engine barks to life with 540hp and 510 pound-feet of torque, which is 40 horses and 30 pound-feet more than the standard GT500. Don’t be deceived by this relatively modest bump in output, however. The difference in character b/w the two cars is dramatic – every bit is pronounced as the differences b/w the base Mustang and the GT, and b/w the GT and the GT500. Aerodynamics and underhood air management figured prominently in the KR’s development, motivated by the expectation that more than a few KR owners actually know their way around a racetrack.

Far more than just a style statement, the car’s visually defining twin-nostril carbon fiber composite hood is a terrifically clever piece of kit and a masterfully engineered tool for managing the flow of air.

Technical Specification:

There's a lot of debate going around as to which model is the perfect candidate for the role of KITT, I even seen somewhere the Mercedes McLaren SLR being proposed, but I reckon that choosing the 'stang, was a good choice. First of all the car should be an American icon, as the first KITT was. But TransAm is not in production anymore, the new Dodge Challenger is not yet in the streets, the new Camaro won't see production until 2009, so that leaves us the Mustang and the Corvette and maybe the Ford GT, the latter falling in another category really. Now, the Vette wouldn't be a bad choice either, as it has a closer look to the old TransAm and possesses the necessary "oomf" to deliver the goods :)

Still, the beefed up Mustang ticks all my boxes, so no complaints there!

Styling wise, the GT500 KR KITT model will come in two flavours: the Hero model and the Attack model, the latter following the NFS (Need for Speed) trends and style having the cheesy extra bodymods and ridiculous spoilers and wings (thank god, no awful part manufacturer vinyls this time!!!), while the Hero model is a stock Shelby GT500KR with automatic transmission. Both appear in glossy black (of course) with twin grey stripes running from the hood to the back and both will include KITTS trademark: the red scanner light in front, which is located "naturally" on Shelby's twin air vents in the front of the hood.

A pilot movie has been released by NBC I think, unfortunately I haven't seen that. Judging from the modern American TV junk, I'm afraid that the series won't hit my interest spot, but it will be nice to see a few burnouts and drifts of the new Mustang, a few drools, a few jawdrops and a few more curses to the Greek taxation system and governments for having us driving around in Korean junk. To own a Mustang in Greece is a lifetime dream for the very few of us that know and care about real cars :( For starters, the Mustang doesn't get imported by the local Ford dealers, only as special order, and when you get to buy it, you pay three times the amount you would in the States!!!

So excuse me while I grouch and go and see some pics of the new KITT below.

Oh one last thing before I close this one: David Hasselhoff will make a cameo appearance in the series (oh no!!! they couldn't avoid that, could they?) and also the original TransAm will appear. There are also rumors about a new KARR model, but that is not certain.

And perhaps, we can (or you American people) can expect Ford to follow the Bullitt example and produce a special series of a Knight Rider themed Mustang? ;)

Related info sites:

• NBC - Knight Rider
• KnightRiderOnline
• Knight Rider TV movie on IMDB

• Celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the original Shelby Cobra GT500KR, Ford and Shelby collaborate on a new ‘King of the Road’ Mustang with the 2008 Shelby GT500KR.
• Shelby GT500KR features an estimated 540-hp 5.4-liter supercharged V-8 with a Ford Racing Power Upgrade Pack, 3.73:1 rear axle ratio, short-throw shifter, and unique suspension tuning.
• Exterior design draws inspiration from the classic Shelby KR Mustangs and features unique carbon composite hood, wheels, and special 40th Anniversary badging and unique striping.
• Shelby GT500KR arrives in spring 2008 in an exclusive run of only 1000 units.

Full story at MyRideisMe.com: Click HERE

Executive Producer Doug Liman ('The Bourne Identity' Franchise and 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith') and Executive Producer David Bartis ('The O.C' and NBC's 'Heist') have joined together to bring back the 1980's television classic "Knight Rider." The two-hour movie event brings KITT and a talented cast of young and seasoned actors into the 21st century with speed, drama, love and triumph. David Hasselhoff as a special guest star returns as Michael Knight.

Pues sí, como los americanos no tienen imaginación suficiente (al menos los de la industria del cine y la televisión), la NBC ha decidido hacer una TV Movie sobre el coche fantástico 26 años después.

Tranquilos, que no la protagoniza David Hasselhoff, sino que la protagonizará un tal Justin Bruening, que es un actor yanki que ha trabajado en telenovelas americanas (ahí es nada :D) y en Caso Abierto (una magnífica serie que aquí es poco conocida).

Y aparte de todo esto, ¿qué es lo peor de todo? ¿Revivir la serie con una película? Pues bien, que si tiene éxito se podría convertir en una serie para la próxima temporada (aunque visto lo visto con la huelga de los guionistas americanos, tenemos pá rato) y lo peor de todo: Que en vez de ser un Pontiac Trans-Am T-Top va a ser un Ford Mustang, bueno, concretamente han hecho 3... Se han cargado el espíritu de la serie... A continuación os pongo unas fotos del supuesto nuevo KITT:

El coche en el que está basado es un Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR de 550 CV. Es decir, un bicharraco impresionante que tiene un aura de leyenda en todo el mundillo del automovil.

Lo "mejor" de todo es que incluso la Ford se piensa en comercializar al nuevo KITT, que por cierto, y siguiendo con el mal gusto, ya no es el acrónimo de Knight Industries Two Thousand, sino que ahora es Knight Industries Three Thousand. Vamos que la están cagando pero bien.

Ná, que sepáis que esto se cargará el mito y que para terminar de rematarlo, David Hasselhoff hará un cameo en la serie.

A este ritmo ¿para cuándo una versión yanki de Los Serrano?

Fuente: FormulaTV.com

Η "κλασσική" σειρά Knight Rider (Ιππότης της ασφάλτου) ετοιμάζεται να επιστρέψει στην μικρή οθόνη το 2008. Αν και πιθανότατα δεν έχει βρεθεί ακόμα ποιος θα ενσαρκώσει τον Michael Knight (φήμες κάνουν λόγο για επιστροφή του David Hasselhoff στον ρόλο) φαίνεται ότι βρέθηκε το αυτοκίνητο που θα "παίξει" τον ρόλο του K.I.T.T. και θα είναι ένα Ford Shelby GT500KR Mustang.

[via autoblog, photo jalopnik]