short for "Knight Industries Two Thousand", was for many the real star of the show. The car boasted artificial intelligence of sufficient level to reason, talk (the voice of William Daniels), and deliver sarcastic one-liners to Michael Knight as an equal. KITT could drive himself when Michael was otherwise engaged, keeping in contact via a wrist communicator or "comlink" (a modified LCD AM radio watch). KITT actually was considered two separate machines: the Knight 2000 vehicle and the Knight 2000 microprocessor. According to series creator Glen A. Larson, as quoted from Knight Rider Legacy, "The car is Knight 2000. KITT is the onboard computer. The car is one, and KITT is the nickname for the computer. I never considered the car was named KITT, just the character inside." The two entities were separated briefly throughout the series (refer to the episodes "Soul Survivor", "Junkyard Dog", and "Knight of the Juggernaut.")

KITT's Pontiac Trans Am chassis was reinforced with Wilton Knight's revolutionary Molecular Bonded Shell, which was resistant to most known weapons below heavy artillery. The vehicle's drivetrain consisted of a turbine engine, capable of accelerating to 300 mph; furthermore, the car had numerous other special abilities, the most notable being a frequently used 'Turbo Boost' for jumping over obstacles. This was a stunt similar to that used by the General Lee in The Dukes of Hazzard, where the car (assisted by the aid of ramps and/or air compression) would leap into the air, usually in order to clear a hazardous obstacle. (In fact, the same stunt coordinator, Jack Gill, was involved in both series.) In Give Me Liberty... or Give Me Death, where an alternative-fuel race takes place, a racecar bearing a strong resemblance to the General Lee is racing with KITT. Though the car is missing the trademark Confederate flag and does not sport racing number 01, it is the same color and sports the same wheels as the General Lee. As an aside, its fuel is moonshine, in comparison with KITT's liquid hydrogen. KITT also had many other varied uses - perhaps the most impressive of these was his ability to print money as seen in Episode Four of the second season.

An early version of KITT, before the familiar scanner was completed, had a mockup scanner located at the extreme front of the bumper rather than at the front of the hood. It did not have the regular red light, being made instead of reflective material. The front end of this early model was significantly different from the usual model. It can be seen in a handful of very brief scenes in the pilot episode, and in stock footage used in some other first season episodes. (It can also be seen in a couple of shots of the first season opening sequence, and is prominent in the pre-closing credits sequence used for much of the season.)

KITT's speech is reflected in a 'voice modulator' located above the customized steering wheel. During the first season, the modulator was a red blinking square that lit up in time with KITT's voice. Midway through the first season, in the episode "Hearts of Stone", the voice modulator was updated to reflect that of "evil twin" KARR. KITT's voice modulator was now three red lines that rose and sank from the centre of the screen as he spoke. This look was retained for the remainder of the run, although subtly tweaked in the third and fourth season. (The original blinking red square remained in the opening credits sequence for the remainder of the first season, and could still often be seen as stock footage in episodes of the first two seasons.) The very early mockups of KITT's dashboard showed the original flashing square to have 'Knight 2000' written on the display in LCD type font (this square was also a blank white color in some shots), leading to breaks in continuity, sometimes even within the same scene, as the details of the display varied between shots.

KITT was actually the second smart car developed by FLAG. The first, dubbed KARR