After the victories at Le Mans in 1972 and 1973, Matra was aiming for a historic third win in a row for 1974. Ferrari, which was its strongest competitor, and which in 1973 had not deserted the 24 Hours as it had done in 1972, had retired at the end of the previous season. Matra thus had a fairly free field, even if the 24 Hours of Le Mans always remains a race full of unknowns. The main competitor for 1974 was perhaps Porsche, which fielded two exemplars of the much modified Carrera RSR Turbo in the prototype category. The race, however, proved to be a success for Matra, which brought the 670B model to victory with Henri Pescarolo and Gérard Larrousse. The French manufacturer then withdrew from endurance competitions, leaving Alpine-Renault the task of defending the national colors in the sports category.