Imagine a car show where you wander past Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Porsches lined up on a private green. In the middle, a 1973 GMC New Look bus sits center stage on the fairway, surrounded by yellow sports cars sporting “taxi” signs. A little farther over, a humble Fiat Panda lounges in a bunker, tucked among the Hamptons. And yet, here there are no judges, no rankings, no trophy to win, not even a ticket to buy.
Welcome to The Bridge car show, a ultra-private gathering held every September at the The Bridge golf club in Bridgehampton. The course was laid out on the former Bridgehampton Race Circuit, where Mario Andretti, Paul Newman, or Bruce McLaren raced. Created in 2016, the event celebrated its tenth edition “The Bridge X” on September 19, 2026. That day, more than 300 classic cars occupied the course. A few thousand invited guests, all handpicked, were able to approach the setting. For others, The Bridge remains a tightly closed club, invitation-only, that piques car enthusiasts’ curiosity.
The Bridge car show : a garden party on a legendary old race track
The setting is no accident: The Bridge Golf Club sits atop the hills of a racing circuit that has since disappeared. On this ribbon of asphalt now swallowed by grass, Mario Andretti, Paul Newman, and Bruce McLaren battled it out. Co-founder Bob Rubin, a collector and the property’s owner, wanted to keep that past alive once a year. “It’s a garden party,” Rubin sums up when asked by the American magazine Road & Track. Accustomed to the most prestigious concours d’elegance, including Pebble Beach, he nonetheless wanted something different here. “I’ve always thought that judging kind of kills the vibe,” he explains.
This impulse comes from his approach to collecting: he distrusts those he calls “trophy checklist collectors.” He says that when you look into some collections, you see one impressive piece after another, “but I have no idea who you are as a person.” At The Bridge, he rejects that checkbox logic: no classes, no scoring grids. Co-founder Jeffrey Einhorn puts it differently: “Every car here has already been pre-judged.” “We have already selected them. They have already won. Everyone here is a winner.” he continues. Hence this deliberate mix: a Ferrari 250 GTO valued at $70 million, more than €64 million, right next to a vintage Honda at $12,000, about €11,000, occupying the same lawn space. For Rubin, this positioning makes The Bridge an oddball in the concours calendar: “We are the disruptors,” he smiles. “We are on the circuit, but we are not part of the circuit,” he adds.
A non-competition without judges or trophies, where everyone has already won
On the meticulously mowed grass, the tone remains far from the stiff seriousness of some concours d’elegance. Jeffrey Einhorn embraces it: “We like to poke fun at those who take themselves too seriously.” “We want to make people smile and laugh,” he continues, as yellow supercars transform into taxi stands. A 1973 GMC New Look bus sits in the middle of the fairway, surrounded by yellow sports cars wearing “taxi” signs. In a bunker, the Fiat Panda 4×4 of Inii and Tony King stands among the cheapest cars on the field. The couple own far more exotic machinery, but they prefer this little 4×4 because it makes visitors smile. “We’re not really people who thrive at big auto shows, actually,” Tony King says. “You see so many different groups of people, and the car collection is so eclectic…” he adds. “I just love that no one judges anyone.” He goes on. “That we are simply car people having a good time.”
Among The Bridge’s regulars, collector Richard Pineda comes armed with heavy artillery. This year, he lined up three generations of Porsche 911 GT3 RS and a Ferrari SF90 XX on the lawn. “We do a whole range of events,” he explains, from Ferrari challenges to rallies in Europe. “But I’d tell you that our favorite automotive event is this one.” he concludes about The Bridge. This preference also comes from the format. The organizers peg attendance at between 3,000 and 4,000 people, and they don’t want it to become a 20,000-visitor megameeting. As Bob Rubin sums it up: “The idea that success is measured by growth is a societal problem.” A portion of the weekend’s proceeds goes to the Bridge Golf Foundation. This organization supports young people through programs that blend golf with academic mentoring. For Rubin, these remnants allow us to “tell a story” and “honor the venue’s sporting legacy.” Put the same cars on another golf course would likely make for a great event, but not The Bridge.
