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...

Joint winner of the £25,000 design competition, comes with mood lighting and upholstery that gives it a ‘living room' feel. Smashing.

This thing can turn on a sixpence, thanks to ‘crab steer' tech. It can carry freight as well as people, so reduces the number of lorries on the road too.

From the same man who designed the Cobra Venom concept, so let's hope there's a V8 in there somewhere. Bus drifting, anyone?

Narrow, wieldy and ‘easy to clean', so feel free to puke in it after 10 pints and a kebab. Note the Union Jack wheels. All wheels should look like this.

Thanks to clever packaging, this bus has a low, flat floor - a bit like a Toyota iQ. Which means there's more room to avoid the stinking tramp on the back seats.

With renewable wooden floors and hybrid electric drive, this bus is greener than it looks. It has two spiral staircases too.

A haven for commuters, with virtual maps, big windows to make it feel spacious and external storage for those bulky bits of shopping.

Designed by the man who did the funky Selfridges building in Birmingham. Looks like the, er, Selfridges building in Birmingham.

About as retro as it gets. The joint-winning design takes cues from the original Routemaster, with a 21st-century twist.

The perfect solution to London's great unwashed? Or the answer to a question nobody asked? recycled bath water, mmm.

Built by Wrightbus, the new Routemaster is said to be 40 per cent more efficient than a diesel double decker, features two staircases and that fabulous 'hop on, hop off' platform. Coming your way next year.