The British don’t take criticism lightly. Aston Martin’s original V12 Vanquish induced a flurry of gripes about the car’s slow gearbox and some interior elements reminiscent of parent company Ford’s less-luxurious endeavors.

The retort from Aston Martin’s engineers is the Vanquish S Ultimate Edition, which boats a 520-hp engine coupled with a conventional, unproblematic, stick-shift manual transmission. Only 40 models of the Ultimate Edition will be built for special-request customers.

A veritable super-car, the Vanquish S has a top speed of more than 200 m.p.h. and a 0–62 m.p.h. dash of 4.8 seconds. The $255,000 price tag buys you a fair share of British engineering, which employs more from the aerospace than mechanical disciplines.

Carbon-fiber reinforcements lace the entire structure of the car, giving more support per pound than traditional aluminum while also dampening sound and vibrations. The six-week hand-construction of the Vanquish S follows a super-car tradition of attention to detail.