Airbags came in in '97 if I remember correctly.
I believe an extra 2" separation between driver and airbag was required and hence the long door cars arrived. Forget where I read it but the air bag system was developed in conjunction with Land Rover (imagine an air bag going off just because you want to drive your LR across a ploughed field!).
I think airbags were an option on UK Morgans.
