A British couple revealed Wednesday that they drove from the north of Scotland to the south of Italy without leaving their vehicle to use the restroom. They didn't need to, their portable toilet drove with them.

Biochemist James Shippen and his colleague Barbara May took almost a week to complete the trip, using what they claim to be the first lavatory ever installed in a car.

They call it the Indipod and it was launched last year with a 295 pounds ($720) pricetag.

It can be fitted into the boots of minivans and four-wheel drive vehicles. An inflatable cabin is used, which has a fan hooked up to the vehicle's cigarette-lighter.

Solid waste is dissolved by deodorant chemicals into a tank which can be emptied into conventional toilets along the way.

The couple, from Bromsgrove in the English Midlands, also wanted to draw attention to the plight of victims of rarely-mentioned illnesses such as Crohn's disease and colitis, which require frequent pit stops.

They have the backing of associations that support sufferers.