At a Glance

• The Bridge X returns for its 10th anniversary on the grounds of the historic Bridgehampton Race Circuit.

• Rare automobiles, supercars, watches, fashion, aviation and art transform the Hamptons gathering into a luxury experience.

• Mercedes-Benz celebrates 140 years with a major installation connecting automotive heritage, design and innovation.

• The weekend extends beyond the invitation-only event with public Cars & Coffee and a Mercedes-Benz anniversary gathering.

There are car shows, and then there is The Bridge X. Returning to the former Bridgehampton Race Circuit on September 19, 2026, the invitation-only gathering is marking its 10th anniversary with something considerably more ambitious than a display of expensive automobiles. It has become a meeting point for automotive history, design, engineering, luxury, art, and the culture surrounding extraordinary machines. I have always found that the most interesting luxury experiences are not necessarily the ones with the biggest price tags. They are the ones with a sense of place and history. The Bridge has both. Spread across the grounds of The Bridge Hamptons golf club, the event brings together vehicles from important private collections alongside luxury watches, fashion, aviation, food and design.

The setting is arguably as important as the automobiles themselves. The original Bridgehampton Race Circuit was designed by Grumman engineers and built in 1957 across more than 500 acres overlooking Peconic Bay. It emerged during a period when American motorsport was finding new places to flourish, and the circuit quickly became associated with some of racing's most celebrated names. Dan Gurney, Mario Andretti, Stirling Moss, Bruce McLaren, Carroll Shelby, and others raced there. The property eventually faced the possibility of development until Robert Rubin stepped in to preserve the land. He later established The Bridge golf club on the site, creating the setting where The Bridge X would eventually emerge. Ten years later, the event has turned that history into something distinctly contemporary.

This year's anniversary carries another significant milestone. Mercedes-Benz is celebrating 140 years since Carl Benz filed the patent for the first automobile in 1886, and the brand is using The Bridge X to explore that history through an installation called Lines of Motion. Rather than simply placing historic vehicles on display, the installation uses color, architecture, and movement to tell the story of automotive innovation. Alternating bands of color extend across the exterior of The Bridge Pro Shop and continue into the landscape and vehicle displays. It is an interesting approach because automotive history can easily become static. Here, Mercedes-Benz is attempting to make its heritage feel alive, connecting more than a century of engineering and design with the constantly changing idea of mobility.

The Bridge X does something unusual for an automotive gathering: there are no winners and no trophies. That distinction matters. The event is not built around determining which automobile is the best. Instead, it creates an environment where design, engineering, provenance and cultural significance can exist alongside one another. This year's collection will include generations of Porsche 911 RS models grouped together by color, Ferraris in distinctive shades of green, American performance cars, modern supercars and hypercars, vintage European sports cars and significant Mercedes-Benz models. Among the Mercedes display will be multiple 300 SLs and the Mercedes-AMG ONE. The result is closer to an outdoor automotive exhibition than a conventional car show, with the golf course becoming the gallery and the automobiles becoming the art.

One of the most compelling aspects of The Bridge X is how naturally other luxury categories fit into the experience. Breguet, for example, will bring a working atelier where a Master Guillocheur demonstrates the painstaking art of guilloché using an antique rose-engine machine. A Master Watchmaker will also demonstrate movement assembly and disassembly. The watches on display range from contemporary technical pieces to historic automotive timepieces associated with the Bugatti Royale and Lamborghini Diablo. That connection makes perfect sense. Fine watchmaking and high-end automobiles share an obsession with precision, engineering, materials, and craftsmanship. At The Bridge, those worlds do not need to be artificially connected. They already speak the same language.

The Bridge X is also looking beyond the automobile. Blade, a Joby company, will present a full-scale model of Joby's S4 electric aircraft, while Pivotal will conduct demonstrations of its electric aircraft on the grounds. The Twenty Five will showcase a simulator experience surrounding its Seaglider, while Volvo will introduce its all-electric EX60. That juxtaposition is important. A gathering built around the history of racing is simultaneously looking toward electric vehicles, electric aircraft, and entirely new forms of transportation. It creates an interesting conversation between where mobility came from and where it might be headed. The automobile is no longer the only object defining personal transportation, and The Bridge X appears comfortable placing the heritage of the internal-combustion era alongside technologies that could reshape the next century.

There is also a considerable lifestyle component. Mytheresa will create a men's lounge featuring luxury fashion, bespoke tailoring, shoe shining and premium cigars. Motor Club New York will bring its clubhouse atmosphere to the 18th hole with cocktails, espresso, and a curated cigar experience. Moët Hennessy will serve specialty cocktails, while BonBon brings a Swedish-inspired stand serving hot dogs and candy. The event even introduces a classic drive-in movie theater vignette complete with popcorn. These details may sound secondary, but they help explain why The Bridge has developed into something larger than an automotive gathering. The automobiles provide the foundation, while food, fashion, hospitality, design and entertainment create an environment where people can spend an entire day immersed in a particular interpretation of luxury.

Perhaps the most interesting part of The Bridge X is that the event has never abandoned the identity of its location. The Bridge was born from a desire to celebrate the former race circuit and its place in American motorsport history. Ten years later, that history remains visible, but it has been expanded into something much broader. The event now brings collectors, luxury brands, designers, automotive manufacturers, watchmakers, aviation companies and lifestyle brands together on the same grounds. A limited-edition anniversary collection and special book will commemorate the first decade, while the following day's public Cars & Coffee at the Bridgehampton Museum will open the automotive celebration to a much wider audience.

What I find most compelling about The Bridge X is its refusal to treat extraordinary automobiles simply as possessions. Here, they become part of a larger cultural conversation about design, engineering, history and craftsmanship. That may explain why the event has remained relevant for a decade. The cars are spectacular, but the setting gives them meaning. The people give them context. The history gives them a story. And the brands surrounding them add another layer of contemporary luxury. The Bridge X is ultimately less about showing off what someone owns and more about creating a temporary world around things that have been exceptionally designed and built. In an era when luxury increasingly means experiences rather than objects, that distinction may be exactly what has allowed The Bridge to become one of the Hamptons' most anticipated automotive gatherings.