diff --git a/src/nb_type.cpp b/src/nb_type.cpp
index 703a6ccf..9d84c48f 100644
--- a/src/nb_type.cpp
+++ b/src/nb_type.cpp
@@ -863,8 +863,8 @@ static PyMethodDef class_getitem_method[] = {
 };
 #endif
 
-// Implements the vector call protocol directly on a object
-// to construct instances more efficiently.
+// Implements the vector call protocol directly on type objects to construct
+// instances more efficiently.
 static PyObject *nb_type_vectorcall(PyObject *self, PyObject *const *args_in,
                                     size_t nargsf,
                                     PyObject *kwargs_in) noexcept {
@@ -883,23 +883,41 @@ static PyObject *nb_type_vectorcall(PyObject *self, PyObject *const *args_in,
         self = inst_new_int(tp, nullptr, nullptr);
         if (!self)
             return nullptr;
-    } else if (nargs == 0 && !kwargs_in) {
-        if (nb_func_data(func)->nargs != 0) // fail
-            return func->vectorcall((PyObject *) func, nullptr, 0, nullptr);
+    } else if (nargs == 0 && !kwargs_in && nb_func_data(func)->nargs != 0) {
+        // When the bindings define a custom __new__ operator, nanobind always
+        // provides a no-argument dummy __new__ constructor to handle unpickling
+        // via __setstate__. This is an implementation detail that should not be
+        // exposed. Therefore, only allow argument-less calls if there is an
+        // actual __new__ overload with a compatible signature.
+
+        return func->vectorcall((PyObject *) func, nullptr, 0, nullptr);
     }
 
-    PyObject **args = nullptr, *temp = nullptr;
+    const size_t buf_size = 5;
+    PyObject **args, *buf[buf_size], *temp = nullptr;
+    bool alloc = false;
 
     if (NB_LIKELY(nargsf & NB_VECTORCALL_ARGUMENTS_OFFSET)) {
         args = (PyObject **) (args_in - 1);
         temp = args[0];
     } else {
-        size_t size = nargs;
+        size_t size = nargs + 1;
         if (kwargs_in)
             size += NB_TUPLE_GET_SIZE(kwargs_in);
-        args = (PyObject **) alloca(((size_t) size + 1) * sizeof(PyObject *));
-        if (size)
-            memcpy(args + 1, args_in, sizeof(PyObject *) * size);
+
+        if (size < buf_size) {
+            args = buf;
+        } else {
+            args = (PyObject **) PyMem_Malloc(size * sizeof(PyObject *));
+            if (!args) {
+                if (is_init)
+                    Py_DECREF(self);
+                return PyErr_NoMemory();
+            }
+            alloc = true;
+        }
+
+        memcpy(args + 1, args_in, sizeof(PyObject *) * (size - 1));
     }
 
     args[0] = self;
@@ -909,6 +927,9 @@ static PyObject *nb_type_vectorcall(PyObject *self, PyObject *const *args_in,
 
     args[0] = temp;
 
+    if (NB_UNLIKELY(alloc))
+        PyMem_Free(args);
+
     if (NB_LIKELY(is_init)) {
         if (!rv) {
             Py_DECREF(self);