When you think of self-driving cars, David Hasselhoff is someone who will inevitably spring to mind. KITT, Michael Knight's beloved companion in the 80s show, is basically what we all hope to one day be driving.
But what you might not know is that three decades after the 80s show ended, the Hoff got to try out an actual, working driverless car. Two, in fact. We know because he told us.
"I did drive a driverless car in Mountain View where [Google] picked me up," he told TechRadar. "They said 'Hit this button and it's like cruise control, take your hands off and watch what happens', and it stays 10 yards away from the car in front of it.'
"Then I went in to present the Hoff award to all the guys who are making the driverless car. They were awarded a Hoff t-shirt - how bizarre is that? - and I drove in in the Knight Rider car. And this guy comes jogging by and says 'You wanna have a go on the real one? It's the most updated one' And I say 'Yeah' and I whispered to the person next to me 'Who is this guy?' and he's like 'It's Sergey', and I was like 'Oh crap, Hi'.
Hoff's fav bit of kit
"And so I got in the driverless car that was the most recent one which was really incredible. It stopped at stoplights, it had a schematic blueprint like KITT, exactly like Knight Rider, with Google operating it. And Sergey said he thought it'll be out in two years."
The idea of putting your life in the hands of a robot car is understandably a little disconcerting, but surely the Knight Rider himself should be confident without a wheel? Sorry to shatter the illusion, but he was terrified. Though he told us that the driverless car is still top of his gadget wish list.
"I'm telling you man, I've never had more anxiety in my life. Your whole brain says 'don't let go of the wheel'. It's overkill. Have you ever skydived? You jump out of the plane and your brain can't communicate what's happening because it's so different. But I would say, the self-driving car is absolutely the gadget I would choose."
