KITT Shelby Mustangs for Auction

KITT Shelby Mustangs featured in the latest Knight Rider movie will be auctioned for charity. Barrett-Jackson announced that two of those cars are available on auction.

The auction for KITT Shelby Mustangs will be held (as the on-site timer says at this moment) in one day and six hours and will benefit Salute to Education.

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Ford Mustang KITT

NBC made it official - the new KITT car from the new Kingth Rider is a Ford Mustang. There will be three versions of the KITT Ford Mustang used in the series:

- KITT Hero - a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR
- KITT Attack - a super high-speed version of the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR Hero
- KITT Remote - a driverless Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR version of the Hero vehicle.

The KITT Ford Mustang in the Hero version will develop 540 hp and the KITT Ford Mustang in the Attack version - being a super high-speed version of the Hero - will probably develop a little more (or just have some extra aerodynamic body parts).

Press Release:
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.

Interactive Artificial Intelligence Robot

You have to be a bit jealous of the kids today. Their simple “toys” are probably more powerful than any government supercomputer from my youth. For example, as a wee tot I’m sure I talked to my teddy bear or had an imaginary friend, but not today’s kids, they have interactive artificially intelligent neural life form robots with attitudes like Brian The Brain. Yep, this mere toy is probably smarter and cooler than you.

Brian The Brain is a pretty advanced toy “brain in a jar” that can be interacted with using either the attached keyboard or by simply speaking to him. Brian’s advanced voice recognition, text-to-speech software and A.I. technology give him the ability to learn and speak with an almost unlimited vocabulary. He can tell jokes, play games and ask trivia questions or even help out with homework by utilizing his massive database of details from the concise enyclopedia from Britannica, dictionary or world history timeline.

Brian can also be used to initiate phone calls and be used as a speakerphone by plugging him into a phone line, play mp3 music, guard the room with motion sensors or be used as an alarm clock or personal calendar/organizer. He looks like a lot of fun, but unfortunately you’ll never be able to get the kids out of the house now. Check out the demonstration video below to see Brian the Brain in action.

Now, I know Brian the Brain is kinda for kids, but you just know it would be the talk of the cubicle farm back at the office. I’m actually tempted to get one just for myself. I also bet with enough tinkering, it could really be a hacker’s dream come true. If it could just be upgraded to work with a computer or go online, there’s endless possibilities… even a version of this technology for the car would be cool, ala Knight Rider or something. Let us know in the Comments what you think of Brian the Brain or if you know of any good ways to hack this thing.