Cars Return to the Bridge, But Only for Show

Golfing gave way to gawking Saturday, September 17, at the Bridge golf club in Noyac, where fairways, greens, and even the occasional bunker were graced with the presence of dozens of Ferraris and Porsches, a handful of vintage American iron, and more than a few rarities you won’t be seeing anytime soon on the street.

As its name would imply, Bridge VI was the sixth in a series of car shows hosted at the exclusive club that was developed around the bones of the long-defunct, and still lamented, Bridge Race Circuit.

Attendees were whisked via shuttle from Nova’s Ark, a couple of miles south of the venue, where a car show of its own could have been held, given the number of high-end vehicles pulling into the parking lot there.

But there was no mistaking where the real show was taking place, as attendees climbed out of their shuttle buses and were met with a lineup that included a blue Delage D12 “hyper car” that probably won’t be showing up in the neighbors’ driveway any time soon. The French automaker, which last raced cars 69 years ago, plans to build only 30 of the cars, with nine of them allocated to the American market.

If the Delage was not to your taste, it was accompanied by Bugattis, another French supercar, and a handful of other cars that looked more like fighter jets than ground transportation, including an American-made Hennessey Venom F5 and a Croatian Rimac Nevera.

Those who took a left turn found themselves in an area where a small fleet of new Rolls Royces were on display, some in colors like a raspberry-magenta shade that one would not associate with the discreet manufacturer of luxury vehicles.

But those who made their way around the right side of the clubhouse would have been greeted by something on the low-end of the spectrum: a 1968 Citroen Deux Chevaux. The tin can of a car was originally marketed for French farmers and later favored by students. But this unrestored model, painted battleship gray, had a hidden secret — a second engine mounted in the rear of the car, one of only a few models said to have that extra power plant. Why? Apparently, it was used to explore for oil in inhospitable terrain, where engine failure was out of the question.

Other Citroen models were well represented on the lawn outside the clubhouse, but one’s attention was soon drawn the other way, where dozens of rare cars — and in some cases, one-of-a-kind prototypes — were arrayed like jewels on an emerald green backdrop.

The car show, sponsored by Richard Mille, was founded by Robert Rubin, owner of the Bridge, Shamin Abas, whose public relations firm focuses on ultra-luxury brands, and Jeffrey Einhorn, a Manhattan attorney, with a deep interest in driving, restoring, and racing cars, who curates the annual show.

He did not disappoint. There was a 1968 Monteverdi High Speed Pietro Frua prototype owned by Paul Monteverdi, which has never been seen outside of Switzerland; an unrestored 1948 Alfa Romeo Sport Assistenza Bianchi — think an American El Camino — that was used by the Bianchi racing teams in the post-war years, and has never been outside of Italy; and 1967 Dino Ferrari shooting brake prototype by Pininfarina that was thought to be lost for decades.

Other cars of note included a 1957 BMW 507, which was apparently ahead of its time. Despite an appealing body style, only about 250 of the models were sold, including one to Elvis Presley. The model at the Bridge, painted cobalt blue, was not restored, but was estimated to bring between $1.8 million and $2.2 million at auction. There was a maroon 1967 Ghia 450SS, one of only 52 manufactured and one of only 22 believed to still exist.

As far as the eye could see, beautiful German, British, and Italian cars were scattered about the grounds, with a bevy of mint green Porsches and BMWs here, and clutch of mid-1950s Mercedes-Benz 300 SLs there. Lamborghinis and Ferraris represented Italy, while McLaren and Aston-Martin, two British stalwarts, were well represented as well.

But at the far end of exhibit, a handful of American cars from the 1950s and 1960s stood out. Among them were an exquisite black 1960 Cadillac Eldorado with fins a mile long, and a 1961 green version with fins that were only a half-mile long. Two others stood out: A maroon 1953 Packard convertible that rivaled the size of some late-model battleships, and a pristine 1957 Chevrolet Nomad station wagon painted a brilliant orange that looked like it had been plucked off a showroom floor.

For those who didn’t get enough, there was a special breakfast at the Topping Rose House in Bridgehampton and a Cars and Coffee observance, where some of Saturday’s show cars were also on display, at the Bridgehampton Museum, where the history of racing on the hamlet’s street and later in the hills of Noyac, was celebrated.