THE BRIDGE 2024 EAST HAMPTON

By Linda Lee

There was no question that people in Riverhead, North Sea and Water Mill saw some fine cars pass by on their way to Millstone Road and the Bridge Golf Club earlier this month. Wasn’t that a McLaren?

Wait, that looks like a Ferrari F8 Spider. And so it went. An old, small red Porsche convertible, like a toy car. Then a big, shiny Mercedes Benz limo. Some were on flatbeds. Many were being driven. Because this was not a concours, where the cars were headed for a competition. They were going to something special. The Bridge VIII was a gathering a high-net-worth car fanatics and the cars they own, or fancy. There were Bugattis, and one antique Fiat that looked like it originated the brand’s nickname (Fix It Again Tony). There were mini cars, one polka dot car, trucks, one made for a safari, two Mercedes vans, lots of race cars, Ferraris and Porsches by the dozens, Jaguars, maybe a Shelby Cobra or two.

It was like a dog show, if the dogs cost millions of dollars. You think I exaggerate.

This is what a golf course looks like with 330 cars parked on it. (Photo credit: The Bridge)

One car didn’t make it this year, the Czinger 21 C Blackbird, which is being issued in an edition of four. As soon as the Blackbirds were announced, all four were sold out, at a price of $2.8 million apiece. The first one rolled off the production line in California earlier this year, and was introduced at the Quail in Monterey, CA, with a sticker price of $3 million. (I guess the buyer went for the luxury package.)

Lukas Czinger, CEO of Czinger (Instagram)

Top speed, 253 miles an hour, and the cars are street legal. The Blackbird wasn’t at the Bridge VIII, but the CEO and Founder, Lukas Czinger, was there to show off a similar hypercar. The Czinger 21C V Max, which runs $2 million, was on the lawn in a color called Mojave Gold. It’s being offered in an edition of 80. Of course, gull-wing doors.

The Czinger C1 V Max, priced at $2 million. No, I don’t know how you close the doors. (Courtesy Czinger Instagram)

If you think Lukas Czinger started making these cars with a dime in his pocket, he is a serial entrepreneur. He and his father, Kevin, founded a company in California in 2014 called Divergent Technologies. If you can follow along, it is “a leading supplier of semiconductor testing solution based on MPI Corporation wafer probe stations for DC/CV, RF, THz measurements.” So that sounds lucrative.

Robert Rubin, Shamin Abas, Jeffrey Einhorn (Photo courtesy of The Bridge)

Putting this shindig together for the eighth time was the power team of Robert Rubin, owner of the Bridge Golf Club and, not incidentally, owner of the Bridgehampton Race Circuit, the former race track that preceded his pricey golf club. (Membership is said to be close to a million dollars and not based on social station, but on Rubin’s guess about whether you would be pleasant to have around.)

Rubin’s partners in The Bridge are Shamin Abas, President of Shamin Abas Communications & Experiential Marketing, and Jeffrey Einhorn, an attorney based in Manhattan. Those descriptions are way too brief. Einhorn is a “super lawyer” specializing in criminal defense, litigation and white collar crime in the law office of Jeffrey Lichtman. And Shamin Abas, in addition to dating Matt Lauer for the last five years, is a powerful figure in luxury marketing. A new sponsor of The Bridge this year, Richard Mille, makes watches that outprice Rolexes. You know who wears a Richard Mille watch? Choke. Elon Musk. They are masterpieces of innovation and design, advanced materials and are exceedingly rare. Swiss, of course.

Shamin Abas can bring that kind of luxury brand in as a sponsor for The Bridge.

Samantha Angelili and a 1960 four-door Mercedes Benz 300D Cabriolet convertible. (Courtesy The Bridge)

Let’s be clear. You don’t buy a ticket to go to The Bridge. it is by invitation only.

Still, several locals were on the list. Matt Lauer, of course, with his son Jack. Christie Brinkley’s son, Jack Brinkley Cook was invited, or his mother was. Our friend, the artist Renee Cox looked happy as she wandered around looking at the autos. (The cars covered a great deal of ground.) Speaking of art, Andrea Grover, the head of Guild Hall, was invited.

Wendy and Roger Ferris (Photo courtesy The Bridge)

We saw Bradford Rand, but of course he was there, since he does the concours. Jamee Gregory was on the green, but where was Peter? He must have been there as well. And of course the architect Roger Ferris was there with his wife, Wendy.

Roger Ferris is the one who designed the Bridge Golf Club’s zoomy club house, as well as its teaching center and the tennis stand. He also helped Matthew and Nicole Ammirati restore their house in Water Mill. The Ammiratis were at The Bridge as well. Which makes sense. Matthew Ammirati is the owner of the Bridgehampton Motoring Club and has a ten-car garage where he keeps his vintage Porsches. (It involves an elevator and subterranean space.)

And then there were the big businessmen. How about Greg Unis who is the Brand President for Victoria’s Secret and Victoria’s Secret PINK. Another guest was the artist Daniel Arsham, a highly successful artist who is a car nut. He has cast a DeLorean and displayed it at a gallery in Paris. His “Eroded Porsche” series has become so famous it has become a Hot Wheels series. Which then has become a collector’s item. And he collects Porsches

Greg Unis and David Kratz (Courtesy The Bridge)

Arsham brought one of his Porsches to The Bridge. There was a long story behind it, how it had to be completely rebuilt. And his final choice, the paint color, may come as a surprise. He chose what he calls a “yellow” housepaint.  It looks pale green to me.

Daniel Arsham’s project Porsche at The Bridge (Instagram)

Also in attendance, the CEO of Blade Air Mobility, otherwise known as Blade helicopters, the ones who make commuting to the Hamptons fast and expensive. His name is Robert (Rob) Wiesenthal.

Lydia Moynihan, a financial reporter, and Rob Wiesenthal (Courtesy The Bridge)

The Abas agency is keeping schtum about who else was invited, or even how many guests were there. It’s just not the way they do things. They do have a couple of good looking ringers they invite, who dress up and look fabulous for the photographers. But you can’t blame them for that. You can’t count on car geeks, even rich car geeks, to look swell.

Meanwhile, Shamin Abas was asked during an interview about luxury cars what her every day drive would be. She answered that it stands 17 hands high and is one horse power. Note, she is not that tall, and a horse of 17 hands is a big, big horse.

She must be quite a skilled horsewoman.

Her female staff, 11 strong, was dressed entirely in white on a brilliantly blue Bridge day. Their job was to make sure guests knew where the oyster and, count them, two caviar stations were.

If people had children with them, staff could steer them to the “toasted” ice cream cone wagon. There was even a children’s playground. Lanson Black Label champagne was being served, as was pork roast.  If the guests got tired of walking, there were lounge chairs, and bottles of fine whiskey.

Shamin Abas made sure that all the right brands were at hand, everything anyone might desire.

It’s a talent.