Wilton Knight was the mysterious millionaire benefactor, owner of Knight Industries, and the creator of FLAG.
FLAG is an abbreviation of "Foundation for Law and Government", a free-lance agency dedicated to fighting crime and helping the innocent.
The narrator of the show's opening credits was Richard Basehart who played dying benefactor Wilton Knight in the pilot movie, "Knight Rider" (1982).
Wilton Knight had a son named Garth Knight, who turned out not to be one of the good guys.
David Hasselhoff also played the part of Garth Knight.
Michael Knight was born Michael Arthur Long.
Michael Long was a policeman, shot and left for dead in the line of duty.
A gunshot to the face at point blank range, left Michael Long without a face, until Wilton Knight created one for him, based on his son Garth Knight. He was then given the new identity of Michael Knight.
Michael Knight is a field operative for FLAG.
KITT is an abbreviation of "Knight Industries Two-Thousand".
Glen A. Larson borrowed the idea of the red scanner that sweeps back and forth on the front of KITT, from one of his earlier projects, "Battlestar Glactica" (1978). The Cylons in that series had an almost identical thing in place of their eyes, and Larson adapted the idea for KITT.
Originally, KITT had a square red light on the dashboard that lit up as he spoke. His more familiar 'voice modulator', with three red lines broken into cells which went up and down as he spoke, was introduced half-way through the first season.
KITT, was a customized 1982 Pontiac Trans-Am. The 1982 model year was the first year of the third-generation (1982-1992) F-bodies (Cevrolet's Camaro and Pontiac's Firebird share the same platform), and was a complete redesign of the second-generation (see "Smokey and the Bandit" (1977) for a 2nd-gen Trans-Am). George Barris' company, who had previously done the TV Batmobile, Green Hornet's Black Beauty, Munster's Coach, etc. did the customizing work.
Pontiac, who supplied the Trans Am for the series, found itself swamped with customer requests for black Firebird Trans Ams with T-tops, tan interiors, and red lights on the front bumper, just like the show car.
Super-Pursuit Mode was introduced as a means of retaining viewers for a fourth season.
You never see a long shot of KITT changing into Super Pursuit Mode, since KITT is not moving at all. A shell of KITT's body was used when filming the transition to Super Pursuit Mode, since large hydraulic rams were needed to articulate the body panels, and there was no room for an engine or running gear in the car.
David Hasselhoff (Michael Knight) went on to star in "Baywatch" (1989).
William Daniels (KITT - voice) also starred as Dr. Mark Craig in "St. Elsewhere" (1982).
