Could this be the bus of the future?

By Conor Mills

19th December 2008

Auto Express can reveal that supercar builder Aston Martin and leading architects Foster have joined forces to win a London design competition to recreate the famous Routemaster bus.

London mayor Boris Johnson announced the winner on December 19th and declared the contest a major success. Aston and Foster were first among 700 entries from all over the world. Both winners get to share the £25,000 first prize.

Boris Johnson said: "We have had a phenomenal response, with ideas submitted from around the globe, and we now have, in our joint winners, two stunning designs that allow us to go forward and produce a truly iconic bus fit for 21st Century London."

Combining heritage with flair, the winning design is highly-manoeuvrable, gives off zero-emissions and has solar panels built into its glass roof.

According to London transport “the first of the greener and more accessible, hop-on hop-off, double-deckers could be in service by 2011.”

The competition winners now get their designs forwarded on to a selection of bus manufacturers, where they will be developed into a final design.