Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Plus 4 crashes into a motorhome in a traffic jam.

I tini the airbag was only supplire ffor a brief period on the American export models. I'm pretty sure that the standard wheel does not actually have the airbag fitted. Apart from other considerations it would require colision sensors and a whole lot of wiring that doesn't exist.

The airbag steering wheel looks awful......it's from a Land Rover I think, four spoke and a huge oblong boss...……..

You might well be right, I just assumed it looked so awful because it had an airbag somewhere inside it but it probably doesn’t

As you say there are no sensors

I think, Peter is right.

Here is what a Morgan with airbags sold in Australia looked like in 2002. I test drove a car back then because i was at a wedding really close to the Morgan dealer and had always wanted to see a Morgan.



In 2007 I was told no Morgans available due to the airbag supply had ran out. Then I think after Morgan had issues trying to find a supplier they tried crash testing a car in Europe with the black ugly wheel they use now and it passed, so they could then start selling cars in the UK and Europe without airbags. About two years later in 2009 (I think) Morgan Australia thought lets try crash testing a car here and see if it will pass which it did. I am not sure but I think there was about a two year period with no Morgans sold in Australia due to lack of airbags before they tried to see if the cars would pass without an airbag. Not sure when air-bags started but obviously before 2002 and then stopped in 2007 when the supply ran out.

I guess the cars pass without an airbag somehow but then most owners change the ugly black thing for a moto-lita which is in theory fine seeing the original doesn't have an airbag but I expect the ugly black thing is softer and safer and potentially the moto-lita would not pass. (I assume no one wants to try it and potentially open a new can of worms, nicer just to turn a blind eye to everyone fitting a moto-lita wheel after buying the car).

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.

Thanks for that Chris I've never seen one of these wheels, not a pretty sight at all.

Aero chassis cars have airbags, this is the Plus 8 installation.....



The wheel isn't that attractive, but better than the big black thing.
The airbags are "old fashioned", in that they are single stage inflation devices. Modern airbags inflate in stages, the degree of inflation depends on the "G" force.
BTW, the accident Bottas had in the Austrian GP Practice was a 25G impact. He was unharmed.

Note the Sat Nav position. Easy to see and use without taking eyes off the road.
My Aunt was killed in a very similar accident on the M11 some years back. she was driving a small Ford, no airbags either.
The police believe she was trying to pick up a dropped cigarette. A heavy smoker... so smoking killed her.

I expect the Plus Six will have airbags..... perhaps even side bags for some markets!

They have made a good job of incorporating it in the steering wheel Peter, it looks neat.

The Plus Six does have airbags.