Aston martin news - Aston’s new Routemaster! - 2008

You know the story: you wait for a new bus for London, then lots come along at once. But just look at them. Have you ever seen buses look this cool? Worth the wait, we’d say.

They’re the winning designs from Boris’s bus competition, where our favourite mayor (and one of Top Gear’s Men of the Year) went looking for London’s bus of the future.

And guess what? The joint-winner (number 19) was designed by Aston Martin, with top architects Foster and Partners. An Aston bus! Presumably it looks like a cross between a DBS and that weird 'Gherkin' building, then.

Or not. It looks great, like a streamlined Routemaster with headlights from a Rolls Phantom. The other winner (number 137) was designed by Wiltshire-based Capoco Design.

Bus builders will now compete to make the vehicle (maybe combining bits from both designs), and make it work in the real world. So there might be a few changes along the way, before the first prototype rolls out in 2011.

Seems like Boris is a happy bloke, too: ‘In our joint winners, we have two stunning designs that allow us to go forward and produce a truly iconic bus fit for 21st century London. I know that, like me, Londoners will be waiting eagerly to see how these ideas evolve into the final design that will appear on our roads.'

And here’s the best bit: as joint winner, Aston gets a share of the £25,000 prize. With the car market in its current mess, it’ll need every penny. Whatever happens, let’s just hope it gets a huge V12 – a bendy bus won’t see which way it went.