Knight Rider, the popular American television series, began with the line, "Who waits for him today?" It aired in Japan from 1987 and quickly became a cult favourite. The series' true charm lay in the daunting Knight 2000, the beloved car of the main character, Michael Knight. Based on Pontiac's Firebird Trans Am package, the Knight 2000 defined the automotive dream of an era.

Our first stop is Ina in Japan's Saitama Prefecture, the home of customiser Area Ten-One. What makes this workshop unique is that it produces and retails replicas of the infamous Knight 2000. Our test vehicle was a reproduction of the convertible featured in Knight Rider's fourth season, which was based on the 1991 Trans Am. As a fan of the series, Aoyama was delighted to drive it, transforming from "Prince" into a "Knight".

"Every week, I looked forward to Knight Rider because of the car-related action sequences," Aoyama recalled. "I have always liked the Trans Am, and bought two units of its third generation. The first was a white 1992 Trans Am GTA, but I was not contented with its design, so I later purchased a black 1988 model. The angular 1988 and 1989 models are particularly fetching!"

Features

Although several Japanese customisers create Knight Rider variants of the Trans Am, only Area Ten-One's matches the original Knight 2000 down to the smallest detail. "It's great!" Aoyama gushed. "It feels just like sitting in the original. Even better, all the buttons lining the centre console seem to be operational. I had to press five different ones just to start the engine! It's great to see that they are not only for show."

One of the things that endeared Knight Rider's fans was the interaction between Michael Knight and the Knight 2000's artificial intelligence system, K.I.T.T. The replica was furnished with a remote control that activated a recording that enthusiasts will recognise as K.I.T.T. "The car says 'Get away from me!' if the steering wheel is turned while the engine is off," Aoyama said. "It's wonderful to see how thorough Area Ten-One has been in reproducing Knight 2000."

The Knight 2000 replica shared the genuine PMD front seats of the 1982 and 1983 Firebird Trans Am models. The customiser obviously spent much time ensuring that even these resembled the originals featured on Knight Rider, where an aperture was drilled on the backs of the front seats to give rear passengers a view of the front.

How does it fare?

So how does the Knight 2000 perform on the road? "It drives exactly like the Trans Am I had," Aoyama said. "At the time, there weren't many fast cars, so I was impressed by its speed. But considering today's standards, I did not feel that it was fast enough. Of course, it may also have to do with the fact that this is a 5-litre powerplant, while the one that I had previously driven was a 5.7-litre.

The brakes are also a tad weak compared to the current standard. Still, I do not think that this car should be critiqued based on its specifications. This is a vehicle for those who obsessively adore Knight Rider." Indeed, it could go as fast as 520km/h during normal drives and 720km/h in "super tracking" mode on the show, so we can forgive its base model's 205bhp.

In the end, Aoyama awarded the Knight 2000 replica with 65 points out of a hundred. "Its level of finishing is very high, and the customiser was obviously very thorough in manufacturing it," Aoyama said. "It may not be the best car to buy today, but I would recommend it to anyone who would like a taste of the legendary Knight 2000."

Including the base Trans Am model, the Knight 2000 replica costs ¥8.5 million.