Airbags were never installed on real VW Beetles.
1989
In the 1950's an airbag system was developed, but in 1954 some government cars came with airbags. In 1988 Chrystler offered the first cars with airbags as standard equipment, but it wasn't until 1994 they were used widely. but they have always had mother in-laws
Air bags were first invented by yashuzaburou Kabori in 1963
Correct me if I'm wrong but, I know for a fact Mercedes Benz was the first to crash test cars back in late '60s early '70s when it wasn't required by law. They did it to improve safety of their cars. I would not be surprised if they were one of the first to install airbags together with BMW.
Well if you get airbags your defeating the purpose of having a old car
GM introduced the first cars with Air Bags in 1973.GM introduced the first cars with Air Bags in 1973.
The origin goes back to 1941 with the first practical prototypes of the modern airbag being developed in 1967. Getting manufacturers to put them in cars though was a different issue. They were first offered as an option in 1974 by GM. It was not until the 1990s that airbags began to be mandatory.
2011
Airbags
airbags
No. They are fairly recent.