As car shows go it’s probably the most exclusive in the world. And very likely the shortest too. Staged on the pristine fairways of a golf course with a $1.2 million joining fee, it features automobiles with a combined value of more than $600 million, lasts for just five hours and is open only to invited guests. And even they have to park two miles away before being chauffeured in — just to be sure there are no imposters.
Founded in 2017, the Bridge aims to be the polar opposite of traditional events for lovers of classic and exotic cars, many of which have grown into sprawling commercial enterprises that run for several days and attract hundreds of thousands of visitors.
Perhaps unsurprisingly it all happens in the Hamptons, the Long Island home (or part-time home) to some of the wealthiest on the planet. This is the famed summer playground of the social elite, who traditionally flock there on July 4 and depart just as predictably on or around Labor Day, which falls on the first Monday of September.
There were 53 Ferraris at the Bridge this year, including these 1970s 246 GTS Dinos
A 1946 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 sport cabriolet with bodywork by Pininfarina
CHRIS JEYES
Once the dust has settled a couple of weeks later, Bob Rubin and his team get ready to transform a few dozen of his 550 acres of prime golfing real estate into a verdant backdrop for some of the world’s most covetable cars in an impressive operation that’s carried out with nothing short of military efficiency.
True, it’s not the only golf course to hold a car show (the concours at California’s celebrated Pebble Beach club being the obvious example), but the Bridge is the only one that can also lay claim to being on the actual site of a historic race track.
The Bridgehampton circuit opened in 1957 during the golden era of American road racing, helping to inspire Rubin to take up the sport while still a fledgling currency trader on Wall Street — a job he did rather well in.
So well, in fact, that he was able to acquire a substantial chunk of the track during the 1970s before buying out the other shareholders in 1981 and running the venue both for his own enjoyment and that of his many petrolhead friends.
A 1938 Harley-Davidson Knucklehead chopper. The “crackle” paintwork was inspired by a bone china tea cup
TONY LAIACONA
The Morgan Super 3 three-wheeler, a current model, is capable of 130mph
TONY LAIACONA
The perfect drive: three Ferrari F40s, each worth $2m, look resplendent on the fairway
TONY LAIACONA
But by the late 1990s complaints from locals about noise and other issues that are part and parcel of maintaining a race circuit forced Rubin to shut it down and contemplate his next move — which, as it turned out, was to transform it into a golf course.
“I didn’t play golf and knew nothing about courses, so I just went ahead and did it all on my own to avoid any conflicts with investors,” explains Rubin, whose aim was to create a club so prestigious that (thanks to that seven-figure joining fee) it could operate successfully with a membership of only about 150.
And then, back in 2014, the luxury PR and events guru Shamin Abas approached Rubin with the idea of holding a Ferrari anniversary party at the course.
“Events for anyone outside of the membership had simply never happened there, but Bob was persuaded to allow it because of his love of cars, and that led to the idea of holding an annual concours at the Bridge.”
But what Rubin didn’t want was a commercially driven event that aimed to pack in as many visitors as possible with the sole aim of making profit.
Which is why it’s not possible to buy a ticket for the Bridge, and why the guest list is made up purely of golf club members and their friends, plus invitees of the show’s handful of high-end sponsors.
A 1962 Jaguar E-type Series 1 roadster converted by Eagle with 4.7 litre engine, bespoke five-speed gearbox and other upgrades
CHRIS JEYES
The trio of F40s from 1989 and 1990 pose with some modern Ferraris
CHRIS JEYES
The cars, meanwhile, are not selected by the usual line-up of stiff-backed committee members who preside over typical concours events, but by Rubin, Abas and Jeffrey Einhorn, a top New York criminal lawyer and automobile obsessive.
“We decide pretty quickly if a car fits with the show,” Einhorn says. “What takes a bit longer is making sure the owner fits too.”
There is no judging and there are no prizes, meaning the rivalry seen at many concours events doesn’t exist, nor does the monetary incentive to achieve the “best in show” (a victory at Pebble Beach, for example, can increase a car’s value by tens of thousands).
“A lot of these concours shows have become all about politics — the idea of the Bridge is kind of Pebble Beach but without a broom up its ass,” the outspoken Rubin says. “We’re just holding a garden party for gearheads.”
As laid-back as that sounds, though, the Bridge only happens through highly co-ordinated teamwork, ultra-efficient management and the co-operation of both car owners and guests.
A 1988 BMW M3 racing car
CHRIS JEYES
A 1973 Porsche 911S Brumos, one of just seven built by the Florida-based Brumos Racing, and a 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster with hard top
CHRIS JEYES
No sooner had the last round of golf been played on Friday evening than the first few dozen cars were delivered and thematically arranged on the fairways; by midday Saturday those dozens have grown to more than 300, sprinkled liberally on the last few holes of the course and around the modernist clubhouse.
At this month’s latest edition, guests encountered two cars worth more than $20 million between them in front of the building’s entrance (a McLaren F1 from the 1990s and its designer Gordon Murray’s most recent creation, the GMA S1 LM).
Out on the course, meanwhile, a quintet of Speed Yellow Porsche 911s contrasted vividly with the emerald green grass of the fairway, while a glance to the left revealed not one but three Ferrari F40s (each worth a cool $2m) that made up a contingent of no fewer than 53 examples of the Italian marque.
Rubin’s love of art (he’s a serious collector and scholar who has written extensively on everyone from Alexander Calder to Richard Avedon and Jeff Koons) has led to friendships with big names including Richard Prince and Daniel Arsham.
The latter showed both a 1986 930A from his extensive Porsche collection (hand-painted with the logos of brands he has collaborated with, including Dior and Rimowa) and a customised Ducati motorcycle.
A 1960s Volvo Amazon. Launched in 1959, it was the first car with front seatbelts as standard
TONY LAIACONA
Racers including BMW’s Art Car No 20, which competed at Le Mans, and the Lola T70 MK3 B that Mark Donohue and Chuck Parsons raced to a 30-lap victory at Daytona in 1969 were also displayed, along with classic American muscle cars, 1950s cruisers, trendy classic Land Rovers and beach buggies (suitably planted in the golf course bunkers) and a Porsche belonging to the comedian, marque enthusiast and super collector Jerry Seinfeld.
Since the Bridge covers such a large area, it’s a definite case of “the right crowd, but no crowding”, with visitors able to help themselves from a carefully picked selection of discreetly positioned, logo-free food stalls and cocktail bars dotted around the site — with everything being offered “without charge”.
And at precisely 7pm, just five hours after the first guests arrived and as the sun began to cast its dusky haze on this car lover’s heaven, the highly polished, custom-painted transporters quietly rolled in, the exhibits were swiftly loaded up and, long before midnight, the Bridge was back to being “just” a golf course, ready for the first tee-off at seven o’clock the following morning.
Which rather left me wondering: “Did that really happen?”
More at thebridgehamptons.com and robertmelvinrubin.com
