It was a modification of the older stridsvagn m/42 medium tank, which was phased out of service in the early 1950s.

Instead of scrapping the vehicles altogether, the chassis were used to build a new tank which could be used as a supplement to the newly bought stridsvagn 81.

The turret of the strv 74 was completely new, with a 75 mm high-velocity gun based on an older anti-aircraft gun Bofors 75 mm Model 1929, engines and transmission were modified or changed from the strv m/42, wider tracks and a separate electrical motor for turret traverse was introduced while retaining manual traverse as a backup.

Produced in 1958, weighing 26,000 kilograms (29 short tons; 26 long tons) and powered by two Scania-Vabis L/607 (170 hp/127 kW each) gasoline engines, the stridsvagn 74 had a top speed of 45 kilometers per hour (28 miles per hour), and a range of 200 km/124.3 miles.

The turrets were retained and later used as static gun pillboxes, which were phased out and demolished in the early 2000s.