These models will get an H mark in 2022

In fact, more than ever before, the zeitgeist demanded extremely powerful coupés, station wagons and family carriages that were good for a ride on the cannonball or that had a fist in the neck during the traffic light sprint. Including the McLaren F1 as the fastest hypercar in the world and challenger to the ones that are finally also being built in series Jaguar XJ 220 and Bugatti EB 110 S., but also wild wolves in the fur of the combi practitioner like BMW M5 or Audi S4 Avant 4.2 V8, up to the power dwarf Mini Coopercelebrating a revival.

“Twingo. It drives the world crazy ”, promised the Renault advertisement and in fact the tiny Gaul delighted millions of buyers with van-like space and a faithful look without any PS violence. In 1992, cars showed their face again, including the new edition of the Nissan Micrathat hit women and young drivers right in the heart with their cuddly toy look. Nevertheless, relatively few of these inexpensive little ones have survived to this day, which makes the search for at least 30-year-old candidates for an H license plate more difficult.

Anyone who wants to register their classic as a historic vehicle – a total of around 600,000 cars are already registered with the Federal Motor Transport Authority with H license plates – must, however, meet a few more requirements before tax advantages and free travel in environmental zones are available. The oldtimer must be in a good and authentic condition, attested by an expert opinion.

After all, the 1992 car vintage was basically prepared for a long life expectancy, which the technologically sophisticated Japanese announced at the time by impressively at the top of the reliability rankings. These include the first Subaru Impreza (Boxer and all-wheel drive in the compact class and base vehicle for rally world champions), which renewed Mitsubishi Gallant (All-wheel steering and all-wheel drive), the luxurious Mazda Xedos 6 (Downsizing V6 with upper class smoothness), the rotary engine racer Mazda RX-7, but also the cute one Nissan Micra as the trendiest mini of the modern age.

This Far Eastern seducer achieved a sensation: Japanese quality at small car costs, built by robots in England. The Micra shone across Europe as an affordable city runabout, while the equally fresh and cheeky-happy looking Fiat Cinquecento provided the technical basis for the finest Alta Moda in the form of crossover coupés and convertibles from coachbuilders Coggiola, Bertone, Stola or Ital Design.

Supposedly bland home cooking in the form of conservative notchback sedans was of course also a must in 1992, as it was selling particularly well in the eastern federal states of the newly reunified Germany. These included the golf derivative Volkswagen Vento (for the first time with a furious V6 engine), Opel Astra four-door, but also Toyota Carina (like Nissan Micra and Primera “Made in England”), Mitsubishi Lancer and Hyundai Sonata V6. Model names that are mostly long forgotten, and thus share the fate of some historical events from 1992 that have an impact to this day.

For example, the annual limit on car exports from Japan to the EU, which prompted Toyota, Nissan and Honda to set up European plants and development centers. A model that the Koreans later followed.

Today’s petrolheads, which in view of the V12 racing cars introduced in 1992 á la Mercedes 600 SL (R129), Mercedes 600 SEC (W140), BMW 850 CSi (E31), Ferrari 512 TR, Ferrari 456 GT 2 + 2 or powerful eight-cylinder asphalt burner of the type Chrysler Viper, Aston Martin Vantage and Bentley Brooklands To dream of free roads in the “good old days”, let us say: traffic jams on congested German connections to the east were so common back then that the federal government launched a road construction program worth almost 500 billion marks, unprecedented to the present.

Incidentally, the first global conference on environmental protection was held in Rio de Janeiro. Representatives from 170 countries called for a reduction in vehicle emissions – in the Federal Republic of Germany the regular exhaust gas test (AU) was also mandatory for catalytic converters – and even the German President Richard von Weizsäcker publicly pleaded for an increase in the price of petrol.

Efficiency, however, has long been one of the goals of the automotive industry, as can be seen from the first example Audi 80 Avant, which as a TDI only consumed around four liters of diesel per 100 kilometers – sensational at the time for a station wagon. It should be even better a few years later Audi duo as the world’s first diesel hybrid to make.

But also the V8 asphalt burner presented in 1992 BMW 540i (E34), BMW 740i (E32) or Mercedes 400 E (W124) learned to save compared to established eight-enders, four years later in a new edition they were even around 40 percent more efficient.

In Formula 1, the German super talent Michael Schumacher made headlines with the first victory of his career and at the end of the season with third place in the overall World Cup. Schumacher still used Ford engines in his Benetton car, but soon he became world champion with Renault Power and the fast Safrane, presented in 1992, was available for him as a motorway company car.

Popular sport, on the other hand, was offered by the coupés launched in 1992 Ford (Probe II), Honda CRX and Prelude, Rover 200 and 800 Coupé, Toyota Paseo or the Porsche 968 CS as a puristic entry-level version in the transaxle series.

While SUVs make up a quarter of the market today, only a few brave off-road vehicles dared to venture into the crossover segment 30 years ago. He was one of these pioneers Bertone (Daihatsu) Freeclimber 2, Chevrolet Blazer or Opel Monterey.

It was also time to say goodbye in 1992: the angular Volvo veteran of the 240 series drove into its last year, the million-seller Mercedes 190, affectionately known as “Baby Benz”, was retired a year later from the first Mercedes C-Class, the fans of the cult Volkswagen Scirocco wore mourning, the Citroen BX brought to its best form by Bertone reached the home straight and the avant-garde Ford Sierra was to give way to the common Mondeo in 1993.

But as the saying goes: You never go that far, and that’s why the new cars of 1992 are now starting their second life as new old-timers with H license plates.

New H license plate candidates in 2022

• Alfa Romeo 33 as 1.3 / 1.4 IE
• Alfa Romeo 155
• Alfa Romeo 164 as V6 24V
• Alfa Romeo RZ Roadster
• Alpine A 610 Turbo
• Aston Martin Virage Shooting Brake
• Aston Martin Vantage
• Audi 80 Avant (B4)
• Audi Cabriolet as 2.8 V6
• Audi S4 Avant 4.2 V8 (based on Audi 100)
• Bentley Brooklands
• Bertone Freeclimber 2 (based on Daihatsu Feroza and distribution via Daihatsu)
• BMW 3 Series Coupé (E36)
• BMW M3 (E36)
• BMW 530i / 540i (E34) with V8 engines
• BMW M5 Touring (E34)
• BMW 730i / 740i (E32) with V8 engines
• BMW 850 CSi (E31) with 5.6-liter V12
• Bugatti EB 110 S (production model)
• Buick Le Saber (Generation 7)
• Buick Park Avenue supercharger
• Cadillac Seville as a 4.6 V8 32V
• Cadillac Fleetwood (new generation with rear-wheel drive instead of front-wheel drive)
• Cadillac Eldorado as 4.6 V8 32V (last generation of the cult series)
• Cadillac Allanté as 4.6 V8 32V
• Caterham Super Seven with Rover 16K engines
• Chevrolet Camaro (Generation 4)
• Chevrolet Caprice Station Wagon as a 5.7 V8
• Chevrolet Blazer K and GMC Yukon (new generations)
• Chrysler Concorde
• Chrysler vision
• Chrysler New Yorker (generation change, series start only in 1993)
• Chrysler Viper RT / 10 (series start)
• Chrysler Voyager as Diesel
• Citroen AX as 4×4 and GTI
• Citroen ZX three-door
• De La Chapelle Atalante Type 57 S
• Dodge Intrepid
• Eagle vision
• Excalibur 100
• Ferrari 512 TR
• Ferrari 456 GT 2 + 2
• Fiat Cinquecento (German sales start)
• Fiat Cinquecento Z-Eco (Zagato)
• Fiat Cinquecento Birba (Maggiora)
• Fiat Cinquecento Cita (stole)
• Fiat Tipo as a turbodiesel
• Fiat Tempra Station Wagon 4×4
• Ford Probe II (T22)
• Ford Escort RS Cosworth
• Ginetta G33 SC 4.5 V8
• Honda CRX (Generation 2)
• Honda Accord Station Wagon
• Honda Prelude (Generation 4)
• Hyundai Sonata as 3.0 V6
• Infiniti J30
• Jaguar XJ6 as Majestic
• Jaguar XJ 220 (series production of the super sports car first shown in 1988)
• Jeep Grand Cherokee
• Lamborghini Diablo 4WD all-wheel drive
• Range Rover as LSE 4.2 liter V8
• Lincoln Mark VIII
• Lotus Esprit Sport 300
• Maserati Ghibli
• Mazda AZ-1
• Mazda Xedos 6
• Mazda MX-3 and MX-6 (sales start)
• Mazda RX-7 (FD)
• McLaren F1
• Mega track
• Mercedes-Benz 400 E (W124, market launch in Europe)
• Mercedes-Benz 300 SE 2.8 (W140)
• Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC / 600 SEC (W140)
• Mercedes-Benz 600 SL (R 129)
• Mercury Villager
• MG RV8
• Mini Cooper 1.3
• Mitsubishi Colt 1800 GTi-16V (CAo)
• Mitsubishi Lancer 1300-2000 GLX
• Mitsubishi Galant (generation 5, code E60) with V6, all-wheel steering and all-wheel drive)
• Mitsubishi Sigma station wagon
• Mitsubishi Debonair
• Nissan Micra (Generation 2)
• Nissan Serena (sales start)
• Opel Astra notchback
• Opel Vectra as a turbo 4×4
• Opel Calibra Turbo 4×4
• Opel Monterey
• Panther Kallista
• Peugeot 106 five-door
• Peugeot 405 T16
• Pontiac Firebird (Generation 4)
• Porsche 968 CS
• Porsche 911 Speedster
• Porsche 911 Turbo 3.6
• Puma AM4
• Renault Twingo
• Renault Safrane
• Rover 100 Cabriolet
• Rover 200 Cabriolet
• Rover 200 Coupe
• Rover 800 Coupe
• Saab 9000 CS
• Saab 9000 Aero
• Saturn Station Wagon
• Subaru Vivio
• Subaru Impreza
• Suzuki Swift Convertible
• Toyota Corolla (E10)
• Toyota Paseo
• Toyota Carina (7th generation, from English production)
• Toyota Celica Cabriolet (ASC)
• Toyota Camry Station Wagon
• Toyota Land Cruiser 80 as a 4.5 liter V6
• TVR Chimaera
• Volga 30129 sedan
• Volga 3105 V8
• Volkswagen Golf III as VR6
• Volkswagen Vento
• Volvo 240 and Volvo 240 Kombi (last full sales year)
• Volvo 850 GLE
• Zagato-Lancia Hyena (based on Lancia Delta HF Integrale)

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