Bendy bus…RIP

In the early hours of Saturday 10 December, the final "ungainly and bulky monstrosity" (© Mayor B Johnson) that is the 207 ‘bendy bus' will depart from outside Top Gear's illustrious White City headquarters to Hayes Bypass. There, it will park up for the last time.

That's right, the reign of the bendy bus is over. Hoorah!

The fiery, cumbersome beast will be replaced by a fresh take on the classic Routemaster bus, launched in the first half of next year and inspired, no less, by Aston Martin.

You see, Boris ran a competition to design the next Routemaster, and the winning design - a collaboration between Foster & Partners and Aston - has inspired our new bus.

So as the Mayor - and the rest of London - bids a "final but not fond" farewell to the bender, have a gander at the top ten designs that made the shortlist, before ending on the real thing...