The Bridge is part car show and part site specific installation that pairs rare collector cars and mesmerizing landscape design overlooking the Peconic Bay on the eastern end of Long Island. It’s a location suited to the adoration of automobiles, once home to the Bridgehampton Race Circuit, where Paul Newman rubbed shoulders with Mario Andretti. The current Bridge is an exclusive members-only golf course, transformed under the ownership of Robert Rubin, who also co-founded the car gathering by the same name. The Bridge marked its ten-year anniversary with Bridge X, an eclectic presentation of art and design, film, and above all, stunning collector cars.
What makes this car show unique is what keeps many coming back— beautiful vistas, clever programming, and a fantastical escape into an alternative interpretation of automotive lore. Remnants of the location’s racing past are found in the red, white, and blue Chevron Bridge and the storied history of the wicked Millstone Turn. The main event is an invite-only gathering for car collectors, golf course members, and brand partners traditionally held on a Saturday afternoon in late September. “Our constituency is not the super competitive mega collectors who are looking to take home the big medal,” Rubin said. “It’s a little more grassroots. It’s style and vibe. It’s a little different.”
When Rubin acquired the property in 1981, he planned to preserve the land and honor its racing roots, but that took time. The last professional race ran at the Bridgehampton Race Circuit in 1971. The concept for the Bridge car show began a decade ago over a lunch brainstorm between Rubin and Shamin Abas, the leader of a luxury communications firm. Abas brought in Jeffrey Einhorn, a New York attorney and car collector, who curates the field of cars. The trio has cultivated a devoted collector base that returns yearly for what has become one of the top east coast car events.
Whitewall met the three founders at the Bridge golf course two days before the event. We drove a swanky two-tone Mercedes-Benz Maybach S680 to the club, which fit well with the monied pedigree of the cars in the parking lot. On the way in, we passed a life size billboard for the film “Vanishing Point,” a cult-classic about a renegade ex-cop who races across the country in a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T to deliver the car. In 2024, Rubin wrote a book in tribute to the film’s counter-culture ethos. Rubin, who is also a cinephile and art collector, preserves motorsport heritage and the objects he covets with flair. Sculptures by Richard Prince, Daniel Arsham, and Tom Sachs are found throughout the property.
For guests of the Bridge X, the experience began at the clubhouse overlooking the course. The shifting seaside light added dimension to the cars over the day, many of which were organized by color. The overall effect was dramatic. The show featured 339 exhibitor cars, which Einhorn said is the most ever. “We don’t advertise like every other car event,” he said.
On the high crest of the hill, a pack of bright blue Mercedes-Benz sports cars and a Mercedes-AMG One were parked in formation, in contrast to the brand’s historic 300 SL Gullwing sports cars. As the presenting sponsor, Mercedes built out an exhibit to celebrate its 140th birthday with an installation devoted to its rich history in styling. Due to its exclusive nature, the Bridge attracted a long list of prestigious partners including Volvo, Ferrari, Spyker, and Aston Martin that added over-the-top grandeur to the affair. Guests toasted Moët champagne and snacked on caviar and BonBon candies. Breguet had a master watchmaker give on site demonstrations, Blade showed a model of an electric aircraft, and Mytheresa hosted a men’s shopping suite.
“It’s a little more grassroots. It’s style and vibe. It’s a little different.”
Cars with incredible provenance give the event its prestige in auto circles, including a 1937 Bentley Shooting Brake once owned by the Astor family and a ritzy gold Bizzarrini GT America. A gaggle of candy-colored Ferraris — including a coveted Ferrari 250 GT SWB — drew a constant crowd.
A particularly beguiling element of Bridge X was the ode to New York City transportation based on giant 1973 GMC New Look bus, adorned with a poster for “The Exorcist,” also released that year. Next to the bus, 14 yellow sports cars stacked with taxi toppers mimicked two lanes of traffic. Artist Tomas Vu from the LeRoy Neiman Center for Print Studies worked on a live artwork, reimagining a 36-foot-long Mason Williams print of a full-sized Greyhound bus. The original that served as Vu’s source material was a Wiliams print from Rubin’s collection. “I buy a lot of stuff without an idea of what to do with it,” Rubin said. “Mason Wiliams was a multi-faceted artist and a friend of Ruscha,” When Einhorn told Rubin about the bus entrant, Rubin’s mind jumped to the subject of the print and the idea of the New York City theme was born.
In contrast to the Porsches and Ferraris, more irreverent cars are a key part of the Bridge’s statement. A very cute Renault painted in a five-color palette and a low-brow Fiat Panda added whimsy. A stroll farther down the golf course revealed a drive-in movie theater installation, made complete with period-correct ’60s and ’70s cars parked around it to set the scene. From lawn chairs, we watched a montage of ten car movie scenes.
In the days prior to the Bridge, the most faithful attendees had already gathered for various automotive moments in Bridgehampton. Many drove in the 24 Heures du Montauk rally Friday afternoon and took in an evening screening of “Vanishing Point” at Sag Harbor Cinema accompanied by the live band Suss. Rubin organized the screening and the music, which he described as ambient desert country noir. Proceeds from the Bridge’s merch and event are donated to The Bridge Golf Foundation, which provides mentorship through golf to teens in Harlem.
After the show on Sunday morning, a free cars and coffee at the Bridgehampton Museum was open to the public, as some of the featured cars continue to make the rounds around the Hamptons, despite the rain. The Bridge weekend ended with a Jean Georges brunch for 500 guests at Topping Rose House in town in support of local charity, the Heart of the Hamptons.
The Bridge is a show that moves away from the traditional two-dimensional car show, and instead its treats cars as cultural artifacts — beloved, sly, and personable. While exclusive in nature, the organizers take pride in seeking out and rewarding ingenuity among their entrants. “If you’re creative, you can get here,” Einhorn said. It’s ultimately an intimate affair and a passionate, deeply personal love letter to twentieth-century speed.