The 1974 Pontiac Firebird received a hefty redesign, coincidental with 5-mph bumpers front and rear. The nose was now a one-piece “shovel” design with twin slanted grilles and the tail was lowered for the same sloping effect, with full-width taillights. The muscle car market was almost gone and the Firebird Trans Am was among the last real muscle cars left.

Firebird sales jumped 60 percent to 73,729 units. The 1974 Firebird offered four distinct lines – base hardtop, Esprit, Formula, and Trans Am. Prices rose sharply, with the base Firebird starting from $3335, Esprit from $3687, Formula from $3659, and Trans Am from $4446.

Standard equipment on the 1974 Trans Am included bucket seats, rally gauges with clock and tach, engine-turned dashboard, honeycomb mag wheels, front and rear spoilers, front and rear wheel opening flares, functional extractor on the front fenders, dual exhaust, shaker hood, and heavy duty 4-speed or automatic transmission. Flying in the face of contemporary thinking, the vaunted 455 Super Duty engine generated 290 net bhp and featured a stronger block, four-bolt main bearings, special cylinder heads and exhaust manifolds and a high-lift camshaft. Either the 250 bhp 455 V8 or 290 bhp SD-455 V8 could be ordered in the Trans Am.

A total of 26,372 buyers opted for the base Firebird, 22,583 bought the Esprit, 14,461 chose the Formula, 58 bought the Formula SD-455, 4664 chose the Trans Am with the 400-cid V-8, 4648 buyers chose the Trans Am with the 455-cid V-8, and 943 stepped up for the Trans Am SD-455.

Common add-ons for the 1974 Firebird included air-conditioning ($446), power disc brakes ($46), power steering ($105), power windows ($113), power door locks ($44), shaker hood ($84.26), functional hood scoops ($56) rally gauge cluster with clock ($46), rally gauge cluster with tachometer ($92), tilt steering ($45), console with bucket seats and floor shift ($57), cruise control ($58), remote control trunk lid ($15), rear spoiler ($113), AM/FM radio ($135), AM/FM stereo ($233), stereo tape player ($130), custom finned wheels ($50), Rally II wheels ($61-$87), vinyl roof ($72-$87), and honeycomb wheels ($123).

The 16 available exterior paint colors for the 1974 Pontiac Firebird included Cameo White (11), Regatta Blue (26), Admiralty Blue (29), Gulfmist Blue (36), Fernmist Green (40), Limefire Green (46), Pinehurst Green (49), Caramel Beige (50), Sunstorm Yellow (51), Denver Gold (53), Colonial Gold (55), Crestwood Brown (59), Ascot Silver (64), Fire Coral Bronze (66), Honduras Maroon (74), and Buccaneer Red (75).

Partly as a result of increased gas prices due to the oil crisis, Pontiac sales plunged almost 40 percent to 580,045 units. The division dropped to fifth place, just behind Oldsmobile. The GTO disappeared and would not reappear until 2004.