The Bridge 2024 – A Very Special Automotive Event

As beautiful as the city of New York is, it's not a place I want to stay for long. There's simply too much going on, and I prefer a more laid-back environment. I was in the city for 3 days, filming at Wrist Aficionado and other places in Manhattan. Once we were done, I was happy to leave the busy streets of NYC behind and head out to the Hamptons for The Bridge.

Surely, you've heard of the Hamptons, the collection of quiet villages and hamlets east of the city where celebrities can get some peace away from the paparazzi. Well, there's more to the Hamptons than being a safe haven for celebrities, but that's what that part of Long Island is most famous for.

Many from NYC go to the Hamptons for the weekend to escape the city's madness. A weekend at the Hamptons never hurts anyone (even if it's for work). The navigation indicated that the drive would last about 2 hours, but it ended up being close to four!

The traffic was painful, but I took solace in the fact that I'd be at one of the planet's best car events the next day. For the uninitiated, The Bridge is an invitation-only automotive event where some incredible cars go on display. The annoying traffic was just a minor inconvenience.

This was my first trip to the Hamptons, and I was eager to see what it offers besides hosting The Bridge. The event was billed to start at 2pm, so I hoped to explore the Hamptons in the morning. However, after the 4-hour drive the day before, I slept like a baby. I didn't get the opportunity for the planned exploration.

Once we arrived at the event's offsite parking location, I was surprised at the number of people attending the show. Obviously, a lot of work went into organizing parking and managing the luxury buses taking the attendees to the golf club. The wait for the bus was longer than I hoped, but the short ride was very comfortable.

Once we arrived, it was immediately apparent that it was worth the wait. I had an appointment with Vista Jet I was already a little late for so I stopped by their booth before exploring the grounds.

After my brief stop, it was time to enjoy what turned out to be an incredible line of classic and exotic cars. Fortloc covers some of the best automotive events on the planet, from Salon Prive in Oxford, England, to The Quail in Monterey.

The Bridge is right there with the best, if not better. The fact that it's an invitation-only event elevates its status. There was plenty to eat and drink at stations strategically located all across the golf course. However, I wasn't hungry, so I concentrated on the cars the whole time.

The lineup of cars? Wow, it was the who's who of exotic and classic cars. However, I'll call out the 10-year-old McLaren P1 that still looks awesome after a decade, the Rimac Nevera, the Aston Martin One-77, and the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. I'm not really a fan of classic cars, so I tried to stick with the supercars and hypercars.

However, Raquel was drawn to the classic cars, so I had to tag along. I was a little surprised at her enthusiasm for the oldies. In the years I've known her, her love for classic cars never came up.

One highlight at the show was running into Peter Netteshem, owner of the Netteshem Museum, a private classic car and motorcycle museum in Huntington, New York. He was kind enough to allow us to explore the cars he had at The Bridge. We also discussed featuring his museum sometime in the future, so look out for that.

I couldn't help taking a ton of photos as I encountered one exotic car after another. I was a little surprised at the number of cars that were a first for me. I guess sitting in the office while others attend events has its drawbacks. I need to get out more.

As the show was coming to a close, we ran into the Czingers. I interviewed Lukas at the Quail last year, and we talked briefly about what he has been up to. Later, we caught up with Kevin and talked about the 21C some more. Speaking of the 21C, I can't help but stare every time I see one. There's simply nothing else like it, and knowing about the technology behind it makes it more intriguing.

I met with the event founders as they were taking their official photographs. I've run into Shamin a few times over the past year but hadn't met Jeff in person. I interviewed them on a Teams call a few months ago. Be sure to check out the interview with Shamin and Jeff if you haven't seen it.

I spoke briefly with Jeff about how incredible the show was before he had to take off for more photographs. Afterward, Raquel and I got together with members of the Shamin Abas team to talk about the event.

By the time we left, most of the cars had been driven away. I would have been happy to be the one to turn off the lights. The show was that good.

If you love cars and happen to score an invitation, don't hesitate for one second. However, if you hate driving in slow traffic as much as I do, consider taking a helicopter ride to the Hamptons.