14 DAY TRIAL // `80s and `90s cult figure David Hasselhoff announced that he finally sold the legendary Knight Rider car after he put it up for auction in April, in an effort to raise money for charity. The actor held on to the vehicle portrayed in the `80s hit television series and now he sold it off for a handsome sum.
Contactmusic reports that the 1986 Pontiac Firebird, which had some modifications made to it – quite a lot in fact if we're to believe what we saw on the show – was auctioned on the block and sold to a dedicated fan of “Knight Rider,” who paid $150,000 (€110,000) for the Knight Industries Two Thousand, or KITT for short.
We also found out that Hasselhoff came into possession of the car from another fan of the series, who bought off another auction and later gifted it to him. Now, David used it as a means of raising money for the Starlight Children's Foundation.
Speaking at Cambridge Union in England over the weekend, the actor confessed that he was shocked his TV series reached so many people from around the world. He gushed, “I can't believe Knight Rider affected so many people in such a positive way. I just sold my car for $150,000 [€110,000] to a guy in Turkey.”
The actor seems to be very passionate about this charitable cause because the one-off TV car wasn't the only thing he donated to Julien's Auctions' Hollywood Legends 2014 sale. Among the items that went out on the block were a Harley Davidson motorcycle, awards for his singing career, a lifeguard's jacket from the famous “Baywatch” series, and an acoustic guitar he used to play on.
And speaking of Baywatch, the actor made a startling admission during the same conference at Cambridge. He goes on record to reveal that the much appreciated slow-motion running scenes that made the show so popular were actually a trick they used to make the footage seem longer, because they didn't have enough money to film more.
The production company seemed to have run out of money before it could fill the 50 minute slot, so the footage was slowed down during the running shot to cut some corners and make the required length.
As is sometimes the case, accidents and shortcomings like these turn out to be strokes of genius that mark the face of modern cinematography. To this day, people who have watched the series won't be able to recollect much apart from the pretty girls clad in revealing bathing suits, running in slow motion towards the camera.