(FORTUNE Magazine) – Auto manufacturers are lining up for the start of a new race for the European sports-car market. GM's Opel is quick off the mark this fall with its sporty, affordable Tigra. BMW has two two-seaters in the works: Its Rover division is expected to launch a new version of the legendary MG convertible next year, while an unnamed 1996 BMW roadster goes into production next fall. Mercedes- & Benz's lightweight V6 convertible, the SLK, will also hit the autobahn in 1996. And Fiat will deliver a pair of roadsters next year, one from its Alfa Romeo subsidiary. Automakers are confident that the continents recovery will continue, steering Europeans to sports cars. And European manufacturers are better equipped now to appeal to the tastes of a chosen few. Flexible manufacturing techniques adopted in the last few years make small production runs feasible. But Peter Schmidt, of research firm Automotive Industry Data, warns that manufacturers who charge too much could see their sophisticated chariots turn into lead balloons. Opel hopes to avoid this problem by pricing its Tigra for the low end of the market -- generally under $20,000. It plans to manufacture 50,000 Tigras in 1995 -- a total nearly matching the number of inexpensive sports cars sold all last year in Europe.