The Best Bus for London Race was featured in the fifth episode of TopGear Series 12. It was staged by Richard Hammond in order to find the best bus for London. Five buses were chosen and the winner (Anthony Reid) was the first to cross the finish line at Lydden Hill Race Circuit.
Buses[]
| What buses were in the race? | What types are they? | Who drove them? |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 Northern Counties Leyland Olympian | Double Decker Bus | Tom Chilton |
| 1992 Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart | Single Decker Bus | Anthony Reid |
| 1980 Mercedes-Benz O 305 G | Articulated Bus | Gordon Shedden |
| 1985 Leyland-DAB | Articulated Bus | Richard Hammond |
| 1997 Optare MetroRider | Midibus | Matt Neal |
Race[]
The race started after the lights turned green and the drivers avoided body contact for half a lap after the Midibus (Matt Neal) bumped into Richard Hammond and once again everyone ignored Richard Hammond's strict rule. After 2 or 3 laps Richard Hammond released that finding the best bus was harder than he fought because they had good and bad points, as the Double Decker Bus (Tom Chilton) was bouncing all over the place and going on two wheels after turning a corner. The Single Decker Bus (Anthony Reid) was quick and at one stage did a drift which Richard Hammond found majestic and the Articulated Buses tails were skidding all over the place and at that stage, the drivers turn up the wick with all the driver bumping and barging into each other and another screenshot saw the Double Decker Bus (Tom Chilton) on two wheels again at the same corner. The first to suffer was the Midibus (Matt Neal) getting squashed by Richard Hammond and the Single Decker Bus (Anthony Reid) who then attacked Richard Hammond damaging the centre of his bus and punctured one of his tyres and the other Articulated Bus (Gordon Shedden) used its back to attack him. On the final lap it was a two-horse race between the Double Decker Bus (Tom Chilton) and Single Decker Bus (Anthony Reid) but on the last corner the Double Decker Bus (Tom Chilton) fell on its side which Richard Hammond said was a crash test and the winner was the Single Decker Bus (Anthony Reid) because it was quick. At the end Richard Hammond was going to collect all the finding and get them straight to Boris Johnson's office.